


Surrounded by Spirits

by GemNika



Category: Bleach, Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Crossover, F/M, M/M, Older Man/Younger Woman, Romance, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 07:32:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 55,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13565805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemNika/pseuds/GemNika
Summary: An attack that should have killed her, and the interference of a spirit, causes Lucy to be catapulted across dimensions to the Seireitei. How will our Celestial mage fare in a world filled with spirits? And what will she make of the most ruthless member of the Gotei 13?





	1. A New World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been planning to write a Kenpachi/Lucy crossover for quite some time. I honestly have no idea if this will be all that good in regards to keeping all of the characters in Bleach in character, but for any of you that are willing to give this insanity a shot, I thank you.
> 
> Hopefully, I can do this story justice. So, it's time to get started.
> 
> Just as a point of reference, this is after Tartaros in Fairy Tail. And after the end of the anime for Bleach. I'm not even gonna  try  to work any of the final arcs from the manga in there, lest I fuck up all the things.
> 
> So, without further ado, let's get on to the story!

 

 

"You Fairy scum won't make it out of here!" the dark guild's master bellowed. "Morþorwyrhta, forðgān!"

Team Natsu scattered in every direction they could within the confines of the guild, each of their eyes widening as black ichor oozed from the mage's hands, spiralling wildly and searing every surface it came in contact with.

The smell alone was enough to have Natsu doubling over as though he was on a train, instantly hurling up the contents of his stomach and ignoring the burning bits of wood and stone that pelted his back from the crumbling ceiling.

Gray found himself pinned helplessly beneath a large section of the collapsed wall, with an alarmingly large piece of rebar spearing through his thigh and anchoring him to the ground.

Erza was able to dodge just in the nick of time, but her newest Heart Kreuz armor didn't fare so well.

Lucy was pulled out of the way by Loke, thrown across the ground as the spell hit his back instead. The agonized scream that tore from the Lion Spirit had the blonde more than infuriated. "Speak English!" she screeched. "You're gonna pay for hurting my friend!"

"Dōmdæġ Unġeendodlīċe!" A cruel smile slowly pulled up the corners of his mouth, crinkling his eyes as they shifted from a soft, deep grey to milky white. His other hand extended, one finger singling out the Celestial mage, and wisping black shadows that hissed and writhed in erratically twitching tendrils shot toward her. "Seġniende intō dēaþes. Goodbye…"

Lucy screamed in terror as darkness consumed the area around her, arcing over her body and cutting her off from the rest of her friends. She didn't hear Erza's enraged shouts, or see the flames that instantly overtook Natsu's body while he vaulted from the ground in the hopes of saving her. The hissing sound filled her ears, wriggled its way into her head until it was pounding and she thought it would explode. Just before she lost consciousness, as the first shadow reached its cloying, chilly fingers of death toward her, she smiled when she felt the warm encasement and familiar feeling of three wooden walls surrounding her. Protecting her. "H-Horo…logium," she muttered, eyes fluttering until she saw no more.

The Clock spirit gasped as the shadows converged on himself and his keyholder. He knew she was safe, but when he realized that the spell was lashing at his wooden body, slowly eating away at him, he panicked. His time was running out, and he had to think quickly so Lucy could be saved. If he was destroyed right then, with her already having lost consciousness - although, he could feel her starting to wake up a little bit within him - she wouldn't survive.

There was only one thing he could do, even if it meant that he would be reprimanded for it. He would gladly take that over losing the blonde. With only one thought in mind, of saving the blonde held within him, Horologium let the clock hands on his face spin faster and faster as he swatted away the next tendril that lashed out at him. Just before he could finish his preparation to shift back to the Celestial realm, another three tendrils slammed into his body from different sides and the dark orb surrounding them exploded.

"Oh, this isn't good," Horologium whispered.

* * *

Lucy's eyes shot open when she felt wind whipping through her hair.

"I'm sorry," Horologium called out. "My time is up!"

"What?!" Lucy looked up in the air to see the Clock spirit disappearing into the bright blue sky above her.  _'Blue sky?!'_  The sky wasn't blue when they went into that dark guild. It had been pouring rain, actually. She looked back down, then screamed as she realized that she was hurtling through the air and on a direct path to the ground. To two men that were clashing in a sword fight on the lush grass. "Oh shit!"

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

Lucy saw a flash of black energy, surrounded in deep crimson, swiping out of one of the men's blades just before she hit the ground. Directly in the path of the attack. She was going to be skewered, she was sure of it. If not, then whatever  _that_  insanity was that came from the ginger-haired man's black sword was going to obliterate her.

Kenpachi paused, his sword still perched in the air and just about to descend, as an enormous cloud of dust and rocks went flying in every direction and Ichigo's attack was stopped. "What the hell? Who decided to jump in on my fight?" Feminine coughing and a quiet hiss of pain came from the settling debris before he was able to see a woman lying on the ground. Wearing not a stitch of clothing, except for a few tattered bits of fabric that hardly covered her nipples and what he could only assume had been a skirt at one point. "O...kay?"

Lucy winced and slowly pushed herself up, surprising both men as the few scraps of clothing that still covered her stayed on. "Wh-What the hell was that?" she coughed. How she had even survived in the first place, Lucy hadn't a clue. What she did know was that whatever that crazy black shit had been, it hurt like hell. Her eyes creaked open and she took in the scratches that littered her arms and legs, then the utter destruction her clothing had undergone. Again.

Kenpachi let out a piqued huff, his eyes narrowing as the blonde woman on the ground sat up fully and scowled at her lack of clothing. "Well, I don't-"

"Why?!" Lucy screeched, looking up toward the bright blue sky and lazily floating clouds. "Everywhere I go! Every- _fucking_ -where I go, my clothes disappear! You suck, universe. You know that?!"

A strangled squeak left Ichigo's lips when the woman scrambled to her feet, causing Kenpachi to roll his eyes. "Oi! Quit yer screamin'. And get outta the way."

Lucy slowly turned toward the low, grating voice that sounding off to her left, her jaw dropping and her head tilting back as her gaze lifted higher and higher. What he was wearing was strange - black pants with wide legs, an open black robe of some sort that was tucked into his pants, bandages wound around his stomach and waist, a white coat with tattered sleeves - but that all went by the wayside when she looked at his face. A strong jaw, a long scar running down the left side of his face from forehead to chin. No eyebrows - which, oddly enough, reminded her of Gajeel - and deep grey eyes. Well, eye, since he was wearing an eye patch.

A small gust of wind fluttered the blonde's hair, and her head tilted to one side as she looked up to see his long raven hair was slicked back and almost pointed. And that there were small bells attached to the ends of his hair that jingled lightly in the wind.

"You're in my way. Unless you've got a death wish, I'd suggest moving," Kenpachi sighed. "I'm not really into fighting weaklings though, so…"

Lucy shook herself free of her stupor, her eyes hardening. If there was one thing that got her goat, it was being called weak. It didn't matter to her that this guy looked as though he would willingly eat her for breakfast, that was just a dick thing to say. "I might not be some overly muscled dildo," she spat, her hand straying to her keys, "But at least I don't sound like a cat when I walk into a room with stupid bells in my hair."

A dark grin stretched across Kenpachi's lips as he felt Yachiru land on his shoulder once she arrived. "You can hear my bells, huh? Maybe you're not so weak after all."

Just as Ichigo was able to find his voice, after forcing himself to look away (and peeking through his fingers at the blonde woman), he turned back fully and got ready to speak. Only to collapse to the ground as she shifted and the last stitches holding her top together fell, baring her large breasts.

Lucy screamed and threw her arms over her chest. "Oh, come on!"

"Ken-chan!" Yachiru giggled as she peeked over her adoptive father's shoulder to the topless woman standing before them. "Did you get a stripper for your fight with Ichi?"

"No."

"Then why is there a naked woman here?" she asked curiously before a wide grin spread across her face. "Oh, I know! Ichi got you a stripper as a best friend present!"

"I don't think that's the case, either," Kenpachi sighed as he glanced at Ichigo's prone form. "Fuckin' kid… They're just some tits, Kurosaki. Sac up!" Was he going to admit that they were probably the nicest set of tits he'd seen in the last few hundred years? No. He was keeping that shit to himself. It wasn't all that often he had the chance to see a pair that were even remotely close to what he'd gotten an eyeful of. And Rangiku's chest didn't even compare, as far as he was concerned.

"Do strippers usually scream like this?" Yachiru asked.

"No, Yachiru."

"I'm not a stripper!" Lucy shrieked.

"Are you sure, Ken-chan? I think that's what a stripper would say..."

"What the hell kind of shit have you been reading?!" he bellowed over his shoulder, his only visible eye blazing with fury.

Yachiru shrugged, an innocent smile on her face. "Blame Baldy..." Was she going to tell him that it wasn't actually Ikkaku that showed her anything, but that she'd simply heard it while walking through the division's chow hall? Absolutely not.

"I'm gonna kill him…"

Yachiru's lips pursed. "Maybe it wasn't him… Toshi, maybe?"

"Hitsugaya?" Kenpachi asked with narrowed eyes, a sneer curling his lip. "I always knew he was a fucking pervy midget from hell…"

Yachiru giggled as she returned her attention to the hysterical blonde before them. "Ken-chan… If she's not a stripper, why is she naked?"

"Because Gingerbread over here," Lucy shouted, nodding her head to the man on the ground, "Decided to use some crazy magic bullshit and my clothes disintegrated!"

Yachiru blinked and tilted her head to one side, then pulled on Kenpachi's haori as she jumped down from his shoulder. She didn't really know where the strange blonde woman had come from, or why every time she tried to get some sort of read on the woman's reiatsu, it was muddied, but that didn't matter. If she wasn't supposed to be naked, then she should probably get something to cover herself up. "Here," the little pinkette said. "Ken-chan's kosode is all sweaty, but his haori stays pretty clean… Mostly."

Lucy blinked in surprise, then smiled down at the sweet girl that was dressed identically to the hulking man. "Thank you," she whispered as she pulled the tattered white coat on and crossed her arms over her chest. A sheepish smile turned her lips as she looked back into a single unimpressed eye. "Sorry, uh… What was your name?"

"Gotei 13's Eleventh Division Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki," he replied, just as he was forced to do by the old man ever since he'd gained the title.

"I'm Eleventh Division Lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi!" Yachiru grinned, hopping back to perch herself on Kenpachi's shoulder. "And that's Ichi. He's a pervert."

Lucy slowly turned to look at the ginger-haired man as he stood. The same clothes as the other two, soulful brown eyes, and a long black coat with tattered ends flowing in the wind. "His nose isn't bleeding," she sighed. "Not a pervert. Just a virgin."

Ichigo squawked and nearly dropped his zanpakuto. "I-I'm not!" When the woman simply arched a brow at him, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "And my name is Ichigo, not Ichi. Substitute Shinigami."

Lucy blinked slowly. Once. Twice. "Huh?"

Ichigo sighed and shook his head. "No one ever knows what I'm talking about," he muttered. "But who are you?"

"Oh!" Lucy blushed and gave him a tentative smile. "My name's Lucy Heartfilia. I'm the Celestial Spirit mage of Fairy Tail."

"Celestial, what?" Ichigo frowned, looking to the hulking captain and his lieutenant and hoping with everything he was worth that they knew what she was talking about. When he saw the confusion on their faces, he focused on the blonde again, on her reiatsu, and his frown only deepened. "What the hell's going on with your reiatsu?"

"Maybe she's some new hollow, or something," Yachiru supplied.

Lucy's lips pursed as she looked down at herself, then back to the teen in front of her, then to the other two. "I'm a mage, not a hollow. And don't talk about my reiatsu like that!" After a moment, she muttered, "Whatever that is…"

"Well, I really don't give a damn either way," Kenpachi sighed. "But yer kinda interrupting my fight here."

"This is a little more important that us sparring," Ichigo shot back, turning his suspicious eyes to Lucy again. "Where did you come from?"

"Magnolia," she shrugged. "Well, more like a few miles south of Shirotsume, since I was on a mission with my team, but…" At the more confused expressions she got, she sighed. "I'm guessing I'm in another realm. Somehow." Really, this was just wonderful... "I'm from Earthland."

"Earthland?"

She nodded, then stiffened when Kenpachi tightened his grip on his - now that she was looking at it - terrifying jagged sword that was clearly etched with years of fighting. "So, uh…" she chuckled nervously. "Where am I now?"

"Soul Society," Ichigo answered. When the blonde was utterly silent, he sighed and looked to Kenpachi. "Maybe we should, I don't know, take her back? Someone could figure out what's going on."

"Unless she's a hollow," Yachiru giggled. "Then you'll get in trouble, because you're a pervert."

"Damnit, I'm not a pervert!"

"And I'm not a hollow!" Lucy shouted over him. "Wait, what's a hollow?"

"Not important," Kenpachi grunted. "But I'm gettin' tired of waiting, and this is still my fight, so…"

Lucy screeched when Kenpachi's sword came flying down at her, much faster than she could get out of the way. The sudden rattle of chains in the air, along with the sight of light pink hair and a maid uniform, had Lucy sighing in relief. "Hey, Virgo."

Virgo's eyes stayed locked onto the large man before her, her hands clenching around her chains as they wrapped around his sword. "Hello, Princess. Would you like some assistance?"

"Yeah," Lucy laughed a little breathlessly. "That'd be helpful."

Virgo nodded, loosening her chains as Kenpachi pulled his sword back to his side. "What the hell are you?" he asked with a wicked grin. If he could get a new kind of enemy to face, and with the knowledge that the little maid was able to stop his sword rattling around in his head, then maybe his fight with Ichigo could be postponed for a little bit. Maybe.

"My name is Virgo, Celestial spirit of the Maiden constellation," she replied flatly.

When Kenpachi laughed and moved to attack Virgo again, Ichigo shot forward and blocked his next attack with a scowl. "Kenpachi, seriously. I'm pretty sure you shouldn't just start attacking people outta the blue!"

"Well, she's an intruder," Kenpachi reasoned. "And if she tries breaking into the Seireitei, and we didn't stop her, then it's our asses."

"And if she's innocent, and really has no intention of hurting anyone, then-"

"Y'know, I'm right here!" Lucy shouted, her eyes narrowing as the two men and little girl turned to face her, looking for all the world as though they'd forgotten she really was there.

"Besides," Ichigo reasoned, "That maid called her a princess, so…"

"Sure as shit doesn't look like a princess," Kenpachi muttered, a heavy sigh passing his lips. "Fine, what are we doin' then?"

"Not a clue," Ichigo replied.

Lucy rolled her eyes and turned to Virgo, now that the threat of her being sliced in half had been taken care of - she hoped. "Virgo, my clothes kinda got, um… destroyed. Again."

"I see," Virgo nodded. "Would you like assistance in entertaining these men?" Virgo asked, her eyes glinting with mischief.

"No!" Lucy shrieked, tightening the overly large white jacket around her chest when Virgo reached forward to bare her breasts to everyone. "I need clothes!"

"Wow," Kenpachi muttered.

"Punishment, Princess?" Virgo asked with a deep bow, pulling a shihakusho out of nowhere and holding it up to the blonde.

"Where did that come from?" Yachiru whispered.

"I don't think we wanna know," Ichigo whispered back.

"Oh geez," Lucy sighed. "How do I even put this on?"

"Go on, Ichigo," Kenpachi laughed, roughly nudging the teen. "Why dontcha show her?" When Ichigo turned to glare at him, Kenpachi's laughter halted as he watched the maid start moving quickly around the blonde.

"Virgo! Stop! Oh good lord! What are you - OW! HEY! Don't put your hand there!"

Yachiru giggled as the blonde's shrieks grew in volume, then wrapped her arms around Kenpachi's head. "No looking, Ken-chan! You're not old enough to see that!"

"What the hell, Yachiru!" Kenpachi whirled one way, then another, uncharacteristically spinning in a circle while he tried to get the girl to let go. "Like hell am I not old enough!"

Lucy was left a panting mess by the time Virgo was finished, but she looked down to find herself dressed just like everyone else around her. Weird little sandals, white socks that had a split for the sandals between her toes, wide black pants, the works. Her top was parted enough to show a good portion of her cleavage, but that really didn't make a difference to her. She was actually more covered than she usually was. She could feel her keys tucked into one side of the strange wide tie around her waist that held her top closed and her pants up, somehow, and her whip on her opposite hip. Her hands strayed to her hair, and she smiled when she felt it all pulled to the back of her head and looped around two crossed chopsticks. "Thanks, Virgo. You're a lifesaver."

She bowed again, smirking when she heard the ginger-haired youth behind her collapse to the ground as her skirt rode up. "Of course, Princess. Do you need anything else?"

"Uh," Lucy shifted uncomfortably. "Not right now, I don't think. But, if you could let Grandpa Crux know I'll be calling him out soon, I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course. Horologium was rather concerned when he came back."

Lucy sighed and shook her head, pulling the maid spirit into a tender hug once she was upright again. "Let him know I'm sorry, okay?"

Virgo nodded, a minute smile tugging the corners of her lips up. "Yes, Princess. Be safe." With that, she closed her eyes and disappeared in a gentle shower of glittering gold, leaving the group staring at Lucy curiously.

"What the hell  _are_  you?" Kenpachi asked.

Lucy sighed and handed the huge man his white jacket. She didn't need it now that she was fully clothed again, after all. "I'm a mage," she said with a smile. "And that was one of my spirits."

Yachiru snorted, propping her elbow on Kenpachi's shoulder and resting her chin in her hand. "Spirits, huh?" When Lucy nodded, she giggled. "We're all kinda sorta spirits here, so… Does that mean you're gonna collect us?"

"Oh god," Ichigo sighed. "Just like Pokemon..."

"Uh, no?" Lucy said hesitantly. "I'm assuming you guys don't have keys to be used for summoning you, and you're not associated with constellations… Right?"

"Nope," Yachiru giggled. "Ken-chan's always losing keys."

"I don't need keys," Kenpachi grumbled. "Anyone dumb enough to try and break into my shit will be in for a world of pain."

"That's the truth," Ichigo muttered under his breath. He looked at Lucy for a long moment, then said, "You're a mage… As in…"

"I use magic," Lucy nodded.

"Well, whether you're here to fuck shit up," Kenpachi sighed, "Or you showed up by accident, I'm pretty sure there's gonna be all hell breaking loose."

"Well, it's not like I asked to be here," Lucy replied. "I just want to get home. My team's probably destroying everything trying to find me…"

"Ken-chan," Yachiru mused. "She looks just like a regular shinigami."

"Yeah, and?"

"So why don't we just take her back with us and pretend she's a new squad member until we figure out how to get her back to wherever she came from?"

Kenpachi paused and looked down at the blonde as her eyes widened, giving her an appraising once-over. She definitely did fit the part of a shinigami, but he couldn't really see anyone else in his squad fully believing that she was one of them. She didn't look like a fighter. Hell, Yachiru was the only female in the whole division simply because most women weren't really made for the kind of no-holds-barred fighting they did. "I don't know…"

"Well, it's either that, or she gets locked up in a cell," Ichigo muttered. After Aizen's fall, and after getting his shinigami powers back, he'd been given a pass of sorts for entering the Soul Society whenever he wished. He was still sort of under Yamamoto's orders, while having a little more leeway when it came time to get things done that the Gotei 13 couldn't due to red tape, but there were still rules. Especially concerning Ryoka. She'd be locked up until it was decided whether or not she was an ally.

"Ken-chan…"

Kenpachi looked from Yachiru's pleading eyes to Ichigo's contemplative expression, then down to the blonde again. "She doesn't even have a zanpakuto. No one will believe it."

"Zanpakuto?" Lucy asked curiously. "What's that?"

Ichigo switched back from his bankai - considering the fighting was obviously done for the time being - and lifted his sword to show the blonde. "A sword. Each one looks different based on the owner."

Lucy's lips pursed, then she reached for her Fleuve d'Etoiles. "Well, I've got a weapon, if that helps?"

Kenpachi's brow lifted as he looked down at the coiled whip. "Really? What's that gonna do?"

"It does quite a bit, thank you very much!"

"Prove it."

Lucy scowled up at him. She hated when people instantly cast her abilities aside, and that was twice in the span of ten minutes that this guy had done just that. If he was going to help her, then she was more than grateful for it, but did he really have to be such a dick about it all? If she needed to prove herself for him to see that she could at least pull off this little ruse, then she guessed it couldn't be helped. He was a captain, after all - that term was easily transferrable, no matter where they were from - which could only mean that she was going to be playing that part of a member of their military.

The whip unfurled, revealing an extended length of maroon leather and a heart-shaped bit of metal on the end. Kenpachi's arms crossed expectantly as she flicked the whip out to one side, a smirk forming when he noticed a sudden shift in her eyes.  _That_  was what a fighter looked like. She was wholly unassuming while just standing there, but now she looked like she was really ready to get serious. "Alright. It's a whip. What else?"

Lucy's jaw clenched and she channeled her magic down the length of her arm. "It's not just any whip," she said while the leather length rippled and coiled on the ground. "This was a gift from my spirits."

There was a sudden rush of power that hummed in the air as the whip transformed, a brilliant flow of celestial, gleaming water taking place of the cord with a strange orange-white light wrapping around its length. Kenpachi's smirk widened slightly. "Alright, it's a  _pretty_  whip. Can you even use-"

Lucy flicked her wrist, sending her whip sailing toward the huge man in front of her. When it was easily deflected with his sword, she mentally commanded it to wrap around from behind, knocking one of the bells in his hair into the air. With her free hand, Lucy caught it, holding the small bauble up and grinning at the suddenly stunned look on everyone's faces. "I'd say I know how to use it," she laughed.

Yachiru clapped, then hopped down to take the bell back from the blonde. Once it was properly placed back in Kenpachi's hair, she looked at the side of his face with a grin. "See, Ken-chan? It'll work."

Kenpachi chuckled quietly as Lucy put her whip away. "Guess we'll see about that. For now, you're a member of my squad. If anyone asks, you're shadowing Yachiru and you've been a part of the division for three months now."

"Why three months?" Lucy asked.

"Because the last time we got new members was three months ago. No one knows their names or faces yet, so it works out."

Ichigo frowned as they started walking back from the outer Rukon district. "Eleventh is filled with men. How would they not have noticed a blonde  _woman_  walking around?"

Kenpachi shrugged. "Not my problem. If anyone questions it, they can come to me." He grinned then as he looked down at the blonde, carefully eying her abundantly visible cleavage in his peripherals. "And that won't happen."

Lucy found herself smiling up at Kenpachi instead of taking in her surroundings. The sights and sounds and smells of the foreign forest they walked through fell by the wayside, and although she felt like she could breathe a little easier, the blonde knew that things would be anything but easy while she was in this new place. All she could hope was that she would be able to get back to her home, and her friends, before too long. The last thing she needed was for Fairy Tail to think she had died, after all.

* * *

Three days had gone by since Team Natsu returned from their mission, with the guild's Celestial mage missing and not a shred of proof she had been in the middle of the explosion that took down the building around them, except for her scent in the air, a pile of ashes, and a few scraps of the skirt she'd been wearing.

Nothing was the same at Fairy Tail. The guild was quiet, mourning the loss of their light, and their dear friend. Natsu took it the hardest of them all, feeling the sudden loss of the blonde all the more, because of just how similar it was to when Lisanna had left them. He was quiet now, alarmingly so, brooding even.

The rest of Team Natsu was at a loss for what to do, but Master Makarov knew that his children needed to accept their loss and remember Lucy for all the good she did in the world. Gray was in the infirmary, healing as best as he could after Wendy tended to his leg. Erza refused to touch her cake, and simply stared at the table in front of her.

What all of Fairy Tail needed to remember was that the dark mage they had faced was taken into custody, and he would never see the light of day again. Lucy's sacrifice hadn't been for nothing. It meant something, to each and every one of her friends and family. And it meant so much more to the people that would never be hurt by that man.

The funeral was happening in only a few short hours, and everyone was on their way to the train station to be at Lucy's grave, set just next to her parents' graves after they had been moved back to the Heartfilia Konzern, where they all belonged. There had been no question about where it should go. Just like there was no question of what would happen now that Lucy was no longer with them.

In a matter of three days, while everyone was wrought with grief, several major changes had occurred. The normally closed off Iron Slayer had spearheaded a project to raise money to make one of Lucy's dreams come true. To buy back the estate that she had once lived in. There were several million Jewels that needed to be collected, fifteen million to be exact, but once he'd stood before the guild and told everyone what he wanted to do, that it was for the blonde and it was something she'd told him she wanted to make happen since the Infinity Clock, everyone had pitched in.

Just that morning, Gajeel - who had taken Lucy in as his sister after the Grand Magic Games three years earlier, after the Eclipse Gate incident - went down to sign the rest of the paperwork and outright buy the once-great Heartfilia Konzern. In only three days, Fairy Tail - along with friends of theirs from other guilds - had raised more than enough money for the endeavor.

Once it was all said and done, and once the repairs were finished, a large portion of the Konzern would be turned into an orphanage in remembrance of the loving woman they had all been honored to know. Totomaru volunteered to become a live-in teacher for the children that were already waiting to move in. Juvia was going to teach the children to swim.

Gajeel, oddly enough, said he was done with everything and was only going to stay at the Konzern to make sure everything ran smoothly. He wasn't going to leave the guild, but when asked, the Iron Slayer said he simply couldn't be there with the memories he had of Lucy there. No one questioned whether he had deeper feelings for her than just the siblings they had seemed to be, because everyone already knew he only had eyes for one person. Only Lucy had known it was another Dragon Slayer, and one that he hardly ever saw.

Everything was moving so quickly, and it warmed Makarov's aged heart to see just how much Lucy had affected the lives of everyone around her. All he wished was that it was something she could be present to witness.

So, as Makarov stood at the head of Lucy's empty grave, looking out over the large crowd gathered, with tears in his eyes, he could only smile. Lucy had been with them only four short years. Eleven, if they counted the seven years she and the others lost on Tenrou Island. His heart was heavy, and he missed her bright smile and even brighter laughter, but it was all the good memories he had of the blonde that made him smile.

The sight of so many people standing there in front of the empty grave and her headstone, seeing them all come together to honor her and the many memories they all shared, brought a small sliver of joy into the day. His children, the children of other guilds, even Crime Sorciere dotting the crowd with tears in each of their eyes. It was more than he ever would have expected, and he realized then that it shouldn't have been a surprise.

"Friends and family," Makarov said after a shaky breath. He turned to the large collage of pictures containing Lucy from over the years as a few tears leaked down onto his cheeks. Everyone had donated a single picture. Countless moments of joy, of happier times, all centering around the blonde Celestial mage, stared back at Fairy Tail's guild master. As he turned back to the crowd, blotting his cheeks carefully, he took another slow breath. "Today, we remember a woman that touched all of our lives. We will never forget Lucy Heartfilia, and while it pains each of us that she is no longer here, it is the love she shared with us all that will always carry on in our hearts..."

Gajeel chewed his cheek as he glared at the ground, his arms crossed over his chest. He knew he needed to listen to the words that Master Makarov was saying about his sister, but he couldn't. Just the thought of her not being around anymore, of not getting the perfect hugs whenever he needed it, or feeling her hand slipping into his… It broke a part of him. He wasn't going to ever see her again, except for the few boxes of her belongings that had been moved into his house. They were supposed to finish moving everything after her mission, because her landlady had finally had enough of her team's destructiveness and Lucy being late on the rent. He wasn't supposed to be so alone.

"... I remember the day that Lucy first came to Fairy Tail…"

Gajeel was going to miss everything about Lucy, and he didn't have anyone to lean on anymore. It was why he was half-leaving the guild. She'd been his strength, the only one he was willing to admit that he was scared shitless to, and she'd never judged him. He'd tortured her so long ago, and she taught him what true strength was. And now, it was all gone. His eyes strayed to Pantherlily for a moment, to the sight of his Exceed sitting on a table with Shagotte and their two daughters. He'd moved on, had a family, and now… Now, Gajeel really was all alone.

"Luce was…" Natsu paused and sniffled quietly. "God, she was just amazing… I remember this one time..."

Gajeel closed his eyes instead of staring at his scuffed, steel-toed boots. Even his goddamn shoes reminded him of her. They had joked one day about what he should wear to her funeral - considering just how prone she was to getting into deep shit - and Lucy had told him that she didn't want him to dress up. If she was up in heaven, if it really existed, she wanted to look down at him and see the Iron Slayer just like he always was. The same tunic with metal embellishments, the headband, his weathered steel-toed boots, gloves. She didn't want anyone to pretend they were comfortable wearing a suit, because it would be a day that she was sure people would just want to be in some sweats. So, that was what he did. He dressed as though it was any other day, with the exception of the new earring in his left lobe of a little iron key, in honor of the blonde.

"... L-Lucy was like… a big sister to me," Wendy whimpered. "I-I never thought…"

A slow breath in, then out. That was all Gajeel could do to keep his own tears at bay. Sure, everyone in the crowd had been a huge ball of the salty shit, but Gajeel wasn't going to let himself do that where anyone but Pantherlily could see. Later, once everyone had gone home, he was simply going to finally allow himself to curl up in a ball and cry his damn eyes out. Not then. He hadn't done it since finding out about her death, because there was shit that needed to get handled. He was going to be useless once he started, so the longer he put it off, the better.

"I'm glad that Lucy was able to forgive me for what I've done," Flare said quietly.

"Blondie was a damn angel for forgiving us," Laxus sighed.

"I'm gonna miss Cosplayer," Bickslow sniffled. "Especially her hugs."

"I never knew what strength was until I met her," Minerva whispered, her voice quivering.

"I was once a Wizard Saint," Jellal said. "But the true saint in our lives was Lucy. She forgave so easily. Not just people who were once her enemies, but… People who committed crime after crime, who never deserved her forgiveness…"

Gajeel's lips trembled before he bit down on them. No way in hell was he going to cry. He couldn't. He knew people would want him to get up in the front and say something, especially since he'd been so put together for the past few days - at least, he had on the outside. Inside, he felt dead. Completely cold.

Unfamiliar fingers brushed over the piercings in his forearms, but all he could feel was Lucy's fingers. A warm, calloused palm ran lightly over his flesh, and he felt Lucy's hand. A tender squeeze, and he finally forced his eyes to open. To see just who it was that had brought back so many reminders of the blonde with such a simple action - something that no one had known she did. Deeply tanned fingers filled his teary vision, and Gajeel slowly lifted his gaze until he was looking into a single indigo eye.

"You really think she wouldn't have wanted you to let it out?" Cobra whispered.

"I-"

"Don't tell me you can't. You fucking can. And you know damn well she wouldn't want you like this." He forced Gajeel's arms down to his sides, then took a slow step closer to the man he hardly knew anything about. One that he already knew had feelings for him. Even though he'd been trying to ignore the Iron Slayer's pull, hearing just what was going through his head from the other side of the gathered mourners had been too much for him to bear.

"Wh-What…"

Cobra smirked and closed the distance between them, pressing his chest to the larger Slayer's. It was one thing he'd never allowed himself to do. To be closer to the one he really wanted to be with. As his forehead rested on Gajeel's shoulder, he sighed and wrapped his arms around Gajeel's waist. Not a moment later, muscled arms wound around him, pulling the Poison Slayer closer. "There ya go," he whispered, a sad smile on his face as the first quiet whimper sounded in Gajeel's chest. Lucy hadn't known about Cobra's feelings for Gajeel before, but she did confide in the Poison Slayer that she hoped Gajeel would one day get the courage to tell the one he wanted to be with, how he felt. "I've gotcha, Gajeel…"

Except, Gajeel hadn't needed to say a thing. Cobra knew. Any time he was at the guild, visiting with Crime Sorciere and trying to avoid everyone, except for the blonde Celestial mage, he'd been able to hear Gajeel. The longing, the fight to keep himself at a distance because he was too scared to get turned down. While Cobra had no problem admitting that he was attracted to the man, it was also a point of pride that he wouldn't be the one to approach Gajeel. He wanted to be chased, but now… Now, it didn't matter. He couldn't just stand by and let the Iron Slayer suffer like this.

Several sets of surprised eyes turned sharply to Gajeel and Cobra, those closest around them sucking in a sharp breath of surprise once they saw the tender embrace between the two Slayers. And just how intensely Gajeel's shoulders shuddered while he finally broke down. The fact that Gajeel was finally crying really wasn't much of a surprise, because they all knew it would happen eventually. It was more that no one had thought he would allow himself to break down like this in public, and especially not with Cobra anywhere near him.

' _Is this what I really think it is?'_ Suddenly, Gajeel pulled back, looking down at Cobra for only a moment, then smiling at the short nod he was given. He made his way to the podium just as Yukino stepped down, then turned to face everyone. Not caring in the slightest that he was showing everyone just how weak he really was. It took a moment to compose himself enough to speak, but when he finally did, Gajeel simply kept his gaze on the sky. On the clouds that started parting, letting only a few slivers of sunlight shine down on the earth.

It felt like she was really there. Right there with him. And that was what he'd needed this whole time. "Bunny was… my sister," he began slowly. "Even after everything we went through, she was always right there. I miss her so fuckin' much. I-I don't even… I don't even know what to say up here. But…" Gajeel paused and sniffled, a sad chuckle leaving him. "I guess I can tell a story that no one knows about. How I gave her the nickname… Ya see, I walked her home one night a little bit after joining the guild, and… She forgave me right then. I ended up going inside, and we had hot cocoa and ate tons of fuckin' marshmallows. She beat  _me_  playing Chubby Bunny. Then the damn psycho laughed at me when I started choking…"

Everyone let out a quiet laugh.

Gajeel's smile widened a fraction as he looks down to his boots. "After that night, she was Bunny Girl. Then Bunny. She'll always be my Bunny, my baby sister. Not a damn thing is gonna change that. All I can hope is that… Wherever she ended up… I hope she's happy." He looked up to the sky again, tears steadily streaming down his cheeks. "I-I love ya, Bunny. We all do."

As one, everyone present raised their hands into the air with one finger extended. No matter their guild, they all sent the blonde their prayers and love in the form of the infamous Fairy Tail sign. In that moment, they were all Fairies. Lucy had brought them all together, made each of them family. And they would never forget that.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the end of chapter one! I hope you guys liked it so far. Honestly, it was so weird trying to write for Kenpachi, but I think I found my niche in making Yachiru the comic relief. If anyone in Bleach seems out of character, please let me know. I've never written for it, so I'm still finding my groove where those characters are concerned.
> 
> I'm sure some of you were just indifferent toward the final scene, considering it focused on Fairy Tail and all that. And yeah, Gajeel and Cobra happened - I really can't help it sometimes - but honestly, that was for building some more of the world this is all set in. Fairy Tail won't be making another appearance for quite some time, so you don't need to worry about much more coming from that without a good reason.
> 
> So, tell me what you all thought! Love it, hated it?
> 
> Also, for those of you that are wondering what the dark mage in the beginning of the story said, here's the translation. The original language is Old English (as in Anglo-Saxons' English, not Shakespeare...); although, it's a shoddy cut and paste version using my own limited  beginner  knowledge of the language.
> 
> "Morþorwyrhta, forðgān!" (One who causes death, go forth!)
> 
> "Dōmdæġ Unġeendodlīċe! Seġniende intō dēaþes." (Doomsday Eternal. Cross into death.)


	2. Squad 11

 

It was while Lucy made her way through the woods with Ichigo, Kenpachi, and Yachiru, that she realized it might be a good idea to try and get in contact with her guild. She hadn't asked Virgo to try and open her gate at the guild, but maybe it was something that Loke could pull off.  _'I'll ask him later.'_ The less she could involve the flirtatious spirit, the better. For all she knew, he had already showed up at the guild, having heard from Horologium and Virgo what happened, and was working with Fairy Tail to open a portal - somehow - to send her back.

She looked up and off to her side, where Kenpachi was walking as though nothing was out of the ordinary. The fact that he was just so damn tall was a little unnerving. Still, something about the enormous man made her want to trust him. Most likely because, every time she saw him, she could only think of Gajeel.  _'It's the hair,'_  she thought,  _'Or the eyebrows… Maybe both.'_  She missed her team and guild, even though it had only been a few hours at most, but she missed the Iron Slayer most of all. Gajeel was a total sweetheart under it all, and she definitely needed to get back so she could play matchmaker with him and Cobra. Somehow. And to finish moving her belongings into his house.

"So," Lucy said slowly, a small smile when Kenpachi glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Is there maybe some way I can just, get in contact with my guild?"

"It's possible," Kenpachi nodded. "You'll need a Hell Butterfly though."

"A… what?"

Yachiru giggled. "They're these black butterflies that you whisper a message to, then they go to the person you want to send it to, and Bam! Message delivered, Loopy!"

"My name is Lucy," she laughed. "And that sounds ridiculous."

"How do you send messages where you're from?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Lacrima," she answered. "It's this glass orb, about…" She paused and held her hands in front of herself, cupping them to show the general size of a communications lacrima. "Mmm, about this big. You send a little magic into it and think about who you want to call, then their image appears inside of it once they answer their lacrima."

"That kinda sounds like a crystal ball," Yachiru laughed. "Loopy's into some weird voodoo stuff."

Lucy rolled her eyes with a pleasant smile. She'd long given up trying to get people to stop butchering her name, and at least the nickname that Yachiru had given her wasn't about her breasts. No, now she was just being called crazy. And really, being called crazy wasn't all that odd. Gajeel called her crazy on a regular basis. "Not weird voodoo," she laughed. "Just magic. I'm  _super_  into magic."

Ichigo chuckled and shook his head as he reached into a small pocket he'd had sewn into his pulled out his cell phone, one that Rukia had given him so the Soul Society could contact him directly in the event something was going down in Karakura Town. "Well, we could try using this."

Lucy's brow lifted curiously. "What the hell is that thing?"

"A cell phone."

"Huh…" Her lips turned down into a small frown.

"Have a number we can call?"

"Ichigo," she laughed. "We use  _magic_  to call people. Do you really think there's a number I can call? I picture someone's face, and that's that."

"Yeah," Kenpachi sighed. "Well, we're almost there…" His eyes narrowed as he looked around, then the hulking captain paused in his step once they came to a fork in the road. "Damnit, was it left or… Right…"

"You seriously don't even remember the way back to your own division?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"It's right, Ken-chan!" Yachiru giggled.

"I thought we turned right when we came out here," Kenpachi scowled.

"Yeah, but we came from the west," Yachiru pouted. "Which means that we should turn right, now, so we go around to a shortcut and then get back early."

"This coming from the one that got the two of you so lost when Rukia was about to be executed that-" Ichigo started only to pause when Yachiru glared at him. A nervous chuckle bubbled up in his throat and he whistled quietly while looking at the trees surrounding them. "So… right?"

Lucy frowned as she looked at the three people escorting her. "Well, which way  _should_  it be?" she asked carefully.

"Right," Yachiru nodded.

"No, I mean cardinal directions. If you came from the west, and were heading east, then turned right... You would be to the north of where you were originally."

Kenpachi slowly turned his head to peer down at the blonde. He really wasn't one for putting too much thought into things. Hacking and slashing was his forte. Granted, he was fully aware of how horrible his sense of direction was, and he knew that Yachiru's was even worse, but it gave them something to do more often than not. That, and he really couldn't say no to the little girl when she was so sure that she knew which way they should go.

"So," Lucy continued, "Does that mean that you're trying to go south, now? Further north? East? I think you catch my drift."

"Well, the Seireitei is in the center of Soul Society," Ichigo said slowly. "Right?"

Kenpachi nodded and turned himself fully to face Lucy when she started pulling her keys out of her top. "What are you doing?"

Lucy grinned up at Kenpachi, twirling her keyring around on her index finger. Finally, she would be able to be of some use. "Oh, nothing. I'm just gonna use some magic to figure out where to go."

The two shinigamis, and Ichigo, watched as she took a small step away from their group while singling out a simple silver key. Lucy's legs fell into her familiar, sturdy stance as she thrust the key into the air in front of her. "What is she doing?" Yachiru whispered.

"Open, Gate of the Compass! Pyxis!"

A shrill, childish laugh split the air once the smoke cleared to reveal a red and white bird with a large compass affixed to the top of its head. Kenpachi winced slightly at the noise his adopted daughter made, but made no move to stop her. Especially because he knew that she was only moments from hopping down to poke and prod at the - as he already knew she would call it - 'absolutely adorable birdie'.

Pyxis chirped happily while looking up at the sweet blonde Celestial mage, cooing in contentment when she smile and knelt down to talk to it. "Chirr-ee!"

"It's good to see you too, Pyxis," Lucy laughed. "But I need your help. It looks like we're a little on the lost side, and I know you're perfect for the job."

"Chirr-ee! Chirr-ee-ee!"

Kenpachi blinked as the blonde laughed again, rubbing her nose lightly over the bird's beak. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Just talking to Pyxis," she answered with a bright smile.

"Right," he sighed.

She raised a single brow while looking up at him, then rolled her eyes. "So, we need to go south, right?"

Kenpachi looked around for a moment, then nodded. "If we went north, then we'll need to-"

"Chirrup!" Pyxis huffed, its eyes glimmering excitedly. "Chirr-ee chirp-chirp!"

Lucy blinked in surprise, a wide grin stretching over her face. "You can do that?"

Pyxis nodded happily, cooing again when Lucy's arms wound around it.

"Do what?" Ichigo asked as Yachiru jumped down to start smoothing her hands over the bird's feathers.

"All you have to do is tell Pyxis where the division is inside the Seireitei," Lucy grinned. "And he'll point us in the right direction."

"How the hell did you get that from what it was fucking chirping about?" Kenpachi asked.

Her grin softened until it was simply a tender smile, eyes locking onto the eleventh division's captain. "I have a deep bond with each of my spirits," she said. "Some celestial spirits don't speak like we do, and it's up to the keyholder to learn how to communicate with them."

"How did you do it?" Yachiru asked, rubbing her face along Pyxis' downy feathers.

"Meditation, mostly," Lucy laughed. "And, I don't know. I just kinda feel it in my soul."

Ichigo smirked when he saw Kenpachi roll his eyes. "Kinda sounds like talking with Zangetsu," he mused. "So, where in the Seireitei is your division?"

"Southeast corner," Kenpachi grumbled. "Right next to the gate."

"Alright," Lucy said. "Pyxis, can you point us toward the southeast corner?"

The Compass spirit nodded, chirping happily as it jumped away from Yachiru. The little pink-haired lieutenant grinned and hopped up onto Kenpachi's back as the bird spun in wild circles, watching the compass on its head spin faster and faster until it stopped.

"Chirrup!" Pyxis shouted, pointing a wing in the direction they needed to go.

"Thanks," Lucy laughed. She gave her spirit another hug, then let it lead the way through the woods. What Lucy quickly realized while they were walking was that her feet were killing her. The support she had while wearing her boots was severely lacking, and she could feel every twig and rock she stepped on. She wasn't going to complain though, because she was sure the last thing she needed to do was look like a cry-baby in front of these military people.

* * *

Two hours later, the small group came to the wall that separated the Seireitei from the rest of Soul Society, and she quickly dismissed Pyxis back to the Spirit World so it wouldn't be seen by anyone else. Lucy's jaw dropped in awe as they passed through the gate, but a quick shake of Ichigo's head had the blonde schooling her expression back into one of disinterest. She had to remember that her job was to pretend this was all normal for her. She was supposed to be used to this. While they were walking, she'd been given a rundown of how things worked in the Seireitei. Just the basics, but it was enough to get her by for a little while. Long enough until they could get her back to Earthland.

She'd found out that she was the only woman, excluding Yachiru, in Kenpachi's division. That the Eleventh was known for being pretty damn ruthless in fights, and that they were solely focused on physical strength. Kido, or the shinigami's form of magic as far as she was concerned, wasn't used all that much in the division. She would need to keep her keys hidden, and if anyone asked about her zanpakuto, she was just supposed to say it was always in shikai. It was pretty easy to figure out how to tell the difference between captains and anyone else, since they each had a white haori with the number of their division on the back. Lieutenants wore an armband with a crest of their division on it. As far as how she had to act with anyone else she encountered, it was just a matter of showing them respect. Just like she was raised to do. Sort of. In this setting, everyone else was a higher rank than her, and if she kept to the habit of bowing and saying 'yes, sir' or 'no, sir' to everyone, then she'd be better off.

It was definitely weird though, seeing all the people that she now knew were just souls that had passed on, walking around as though they were alive, but she already knew that they weren't just ghosts. They were tangible, just as real as she was.

Ichigo, who she'd found out was actually the only other living person that was allowed in Soul Society, waved as they reached the division and made his way through the streets off in search of someone named Renji. The hair on the back of her neck stood at attention while they continued walking to what she had been told was Kenpachi's office, feeling the eyes of everyone they passed honing in on her and scrutinizing every detail.

" _Damn, who the hell is that?"_

" _Wonder if she's from Fourth. Maybe the captain just got someone on retainer for when he's sparring with Ichigo."_

" _Makes sense, but look at her fuckin' tits, man!"_

" _She's walking pretty close to him."_

" _Next to him, even. Why isn't she following behind him?"_

Just before Lucy could pull back to walk a little further behind Kenpachi, Yachiru giggled and hopped down to hang on her back. "Don't listen to them, Loopy," she whispered into the blonde's reddened ear. "Ken-chan would have told you where to walk if it mattered."

Lucy nodded, keeping her head held high as though she hadn't heard anyone around them. She had to ignore the odd stares, the scores of leering men, and the overall scent of old, man-sweat that permeated the air. She thought that it was something she would have been used to, considering just how sweaty Natsu got, and the fact that he wouldn't always bathe before crawling into her bed. But this… It was on a whole other level of disgusting. She was surprised that she wasn't retching right then, but she supposed it had something to do with Yachiru being on her back, and the sweet scent of little candies that filled her sinuses as a bag was held in front of her face.

"Want one?" Yachiru asked around a mouthful of candy. She smiled when Lucy nodded and held out her hand, dropping several pieces of the little pointed balls into the blonde's palm.

Lucy sighed as she popped one of the candies into her mouth, then looked at Yachiru out of the corner of her eye. "These are delicious. What are they?"

"Konpeito," Yachiru replied around another mouthful. "Ken-chan buys them for me all the time."

Lucy held one between her fingertips, comparing it to the brooding, domineering captain while they walked. "It kinda looks like him, huh," she whispered loudly with a grin.

Kenpachi rolled his eye when Yachiru giggled. "I heard that."

"Good," Lucy smirked, tossing the last few in her mouth. "What are we doing, anyway?"

"Going to the office," Kenpachi sighed, turning a corner and walking up the few steps that led to a sliding door. "And you're gonna do whatever the hell it is you need to do."

Lucy frowned for a moment, then realization dawned on her that Kenpachi had actually been rather intently listening to what she'd said to Virgo before. He didn't really seem like the thinking type, from what she'd noticed, but maybe it wasn't so much that the man she knew nothing about was being overly analytical. Maybe he was just perceptive. Either way, she needed to call out Crux to see if he could figure out what had actually happened when Horologium tried to save her, and how they were supposed to get her back to her own realm. "And, no one will interrupt?"

"Nope," Kenpachi answered as he led the blonde and his lieutenant into the building. Yachiru jumped down and grabbed a fresh bag of candy from the bottom drawer of his desk, one that had only ever held the 'secret stash' of candy he kept in the office, just for her, and he made his way over to his chair. He hated the thing more than anything, but the last one he'd cut up - because he'd needed something to maim, and there was a rather offensive splinter in the arm of it - had resulted in his ass getting chewed out. "Yachiru will handle it if anyone comes knocking."

"You got it, Ken-chan," the small pinkette giggled.

Lucy sighed and slid the door closed behind her, then made her way to a cushion that was in the center of the room. She carefully knelt on it, internally dancing in ridiculous circles now that she was off her feet, then pulled out the little silver key she needed. "Open, Gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!"

A moment later, Kenpachi's brow rose and Yachiru lips curved up into an excited smile as the floating cross appeared before the blonde. "Ah, Miss Lucy," Crux sighed happily. "It is good to see you in one piece."

Lucy flushed slightly, ducking her head. "Hi, Grandpa Crux."

"What can I do for you?"

"Well," Lucy sighed, "I was wondering if you could do a search for me. I was attacked by some weird spell, and Horologium came out to shield me…"

Crux nodded solemnly. "Yes, he told me that he was planning on taking you to the Celestial Realm when the spell started eating away at his body."

"And now I'm in Soul Society," Lucy winced. "Is there any way for me to get back to Earthland? Or, maybe I can have Loke go to the guild so everyone knows I'm okay, at least…"

Crux nodded in understanding, his eyes closing as he started to snore.

A pout pulled at Yachiru's lips, and she walked over to Lucy, staring intently at the spirit in the air. "I know old people fall asleep pretty easily, since Gramps does it all the time, but that's insane."

Lucy laughed and shook her head at that. "No, this is what Crux does when he searches for information. He's going through the archives in the Celestial Realm to see if there are any other occurrences of this happening."

Kenpachi closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, his upper lip curling in agitation the longer he listened to the cross snoring. He was antsy already. The fight with Ichigo was supposed to get the excess energy out, so he could have a halfway decent time. Since that was all but shot, he needed to find something else to do. Anything.

A nap sounded pretty damn appealing when he thought about it. Just as he started to doze off, an unholy shriek echoed through the office. His eyes snapped open in an instant, and he sent a deathly glare to the screaming spirit. "What the hell?"

Lucy smiled patiently at Crux. "What did you find?"

"This search will take longer than I'd anticipated," he panted, quickly regaining his composure and smacking his lips together to clear away the excess saliva. "Do you remember what the spell was, Lucy?"

She frowned and looked down at her clasped hands, running through the encounter with the guildmaster of the dark guild she and Team Natsu had been going after. "I remember he said something like… Morthor weerkta? Then, um…" She knew she could remember it. It had sounded so strange at the time, but she also vaguely remembered Levy telling her about a book that Freed had let her borrow on some ancient language that sounded a lot like it. "Dome-day. Oon-gon-dod-leech? Maybe?"

Crux blinked slowly, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Anything else?"

"Something about death-ess," Lucy nodded with a frown. "Do you know what that means?"

"I will have to do a more thorough search," he sighed. He wasn't going to tell the blonde that he had a very bad feeling about the spell that had been used against her. He would ask Horologium for a full account of everything that had happened once the spirit had arrived to save Lucy.  _'I might need to consult with the king,'_  he thought. After another moment, he sighed and looked at the blonde again. "Please give me a little time, Miss Lucy," he said. "If I haven't found anything in an hour, then I will send Leo to you. Maybe he will be able to contact your guild."

"An hour for you?"

"Yes, Miss Lucy."

"So, four days…"

"I am afraid so," he said. "I might not need nearly as much time, but to be on the safe side…"

Lucy nodded and her eyes softened. "Sure thing, Grandpa Crux. Let me know." With that, the spirit was gone, and Lucy was left feeling a lot more hopeless than she had upon arrival in the new realm. "Well, that was a bit anti-climactic…"

"You can say that again," Yachiru frowned, her eyes still locked on the spot where the Southern Cross had once been. "Are you sure he's not broken?"

The blonde shook her head, adjusting so she could pull her knees to her chest. Once her arms were crossed over them, with her chin resting atop them, she let out a heavy sigh of resignation. "He's not broken, but it looks like I'll be here for a couple days, I guess…"

"Well, I don't know about you two," Kenpachi said as he leaned forward in his chair. "But I'm bored."

"Oh!" Yachiru perked up in an instant. "Ken-chan, why don't we have a sparring day with the division? I think Baldy was saying he wanted to do one soon. Yun-Yun, too."

Lucy blinked at the dark, excited grin that took root on Kenpachi's lips. "You guys really do like fighting, huh…"

"Got that right. That's a great idea, Yachiru."

The little pinkette giggled and dashed across the room to stand by the large shinigami as he stood. "I'll go let them know?" She grinned when Kenpachi gave her a short nod, his calloused hand coming to rest on top of her head for a moment. "I'll see you down there!"

Carefully, Lucy stood as well, already hating life once she was on her feet again. She watched with no small amount of surprise as Yachiru bolted from the office quicker than she could see. "That was fast."

"She's been working on her flash step," Kenpachi said as he grabbed his zanpakuto and settled it back in place on his waist. "Makes her a whole lot faster. Not that she needed it." He glanced at the blonde when she hesitantly came to stand next to him. "You comin'?"

Lucy shrugged helplessly. "I feel kinda like a lost puppy right now," she laughed. "It's either I go with you, or sit in your office and stare at that crack on the ceiling."

"There's a crack on the ceiling?"

"Yep. And two loose floorboards a couple feet from the door."

"Hm," he grunted. The blonde opened the door, and his brow lifted when she took a step back to let him walk through first. "Well, let's get goin'..."

* * *

One thing that Lucy could say with absolute certainty was that Kenpachi's division seriously took the cake when it came to fighting. Even though they were supposed to be sparring, and were using something she quickly realized was called a shinai - a wooden sword that looked like everyone's zanpakuto in its unreleased state - to fight against one another, this was just insanity.

Men were knocked from one side of the training room to the other. The only rule seemed to be that the first opponent to get knocked off of the mat, and didn't stand back up, had lost. It was simply a loss by forfeit.

While she had stayed seated next to Yachiru, with Kenpachi sitting on the other side of the girl, the whole time, Lucy had simply watched the fighting unfold. She'd even watched Kenpachi take down nearly fifteen of his own squad members.

"Oh, here's Yun-Yun and Baldy!" Yachiru giggled, popping more candy into her mouth.

Lucy's head tilted to one side, her brow furrowing in confusion as two men came to stand in front of them. "Baldy and… Yun-Yun?"

One stood before the two females with a wicked smirk on his face and a dented shinai draped over his shoulders. He was obviously bald, but Lucy couldn't tell if it was natural, or if he intentionally shaved his head. On the outer corners of his eyes was what she could only assume was eyeshadow - bright orange eye shadow.

Just behind him was a man - she only assumed he was male because she already knew that Yachiru was the only female in the squad - with straight black hair that hung just below his ears and an odd orange bit of fabric covering his shoulders and throat. His smile was more subdued, but she could see a certain air of confidence surrounding him. With a hip cocked out to one side, his lanky body seemed to stretch on for days. What really caught her attention though, with the exception of the fact that he was very nearly sparkling, were the red feathers attached to his eyebrow, and the yellow ones extending from the end of his lashes.

"Third seat, Ikkaku Madarame," said the bald one.

"Fifth seat, Yumichika Ayasegawa," said the man with the feathers.

"Lieutenant, there's rumors goin' around about the new girl here. Is she really from Squad 4?" Ikkaku asked.

"Loopy?" Yachiru laughed. "No, she's part of our division."

Lucy gave the two men a small, sheepish smile when they turned to stare at her with widened eyes. Slowly, she bowed her head. "Lucy Heartfilia, sirs. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Yachiru snickered behind her hand when Ikkaku and Yumichika blinked in unison at the blonde's odd behavior. And even odder name.

"You mean…" Ikkaku said slowly.

"Yes," Yumichika continued. "It seems we finally have another woman in our ranks."

Lucy's eyes narrowed in agitation when she heard a snort coming from in front of her, and she raised her head to frown at the bald shinigami as he started laughing. "Is there something  _wrong_  with me being a woman?"

"Yeah-" Ikkaku started to say, grunting with he was elbowed in the side.

"No," Yumichika said quickly. "It's just that… Women aren't exactly interested in joining our division."

"Well," Lucy smiled. "I'm fine being here."

"Loopy, you should spar, too!"

The blonde blinked slowly at the little pinkette, her eyes wide and her brows lifting until they were nearly touching her hairline. "Huh?"

"Sure," Ikkaku chuckled. "I haven't seen you around here, and I could use a fight."

"Um…"

"If you're part of Squad 11, then you should never back down from a challenge," Yumichika chuckled. "But, Ikkaku, maybe you should go easy on her."

"Tch, what's the point if I'm goin' easy? Whaddya say, are you accepting or not?"

She looked from the two men to Yachiru - the little devil at her side who was simply smiling innocently up at her - then to Kenpachi. The captain was watching a fight she had completely forgotten was taking place, his only visible eye focused solely on the combatants.

"Don't look at me," Kenpachi muttered. "You're in my squad, you fight. Otherwise, get the hell out."

Lucy gulped, feeling a nervous sweat starting to trickle down the back of her neck. "Um…" She knew though, that she couldn't really refuse. There was no way for her to perpetuate the ruse that she was in the most bloodthirsty division of the Gotei 13 if she didn't do this. "W-Well…"

"Aw, don't be nervous, Loopy," Yachiru said, her smile widening further. "Baldy's not that strong. You'll take him down easy!"

"Hey!" Ikkaku shouted.

Lucy shook her head and rubbed her hands over her face for a moment, then sighed in resignation. "Yeah," she grumbled. "Y-Yeah, I'll do it."

"That's the spirit!"

"'Bout fuckin' time," Kenpachi muttered to himself.

The blonde let out a slow breath while standing, then nibbled her lip and looked down at the whip affixed to her belt.

"No zanpakuto allowed," Yumichika said softly. "The last time it was allowed, the whole building was destroyed.

"Damn shame, too," Ikkaku sighed while he watched the match end. Once the bodies were cleared, he took his place and stretched, his eyes narrowing while watching the blonde.

Lucy slowly pulled her whip out and placed it on the bench next to Yachiru. She didn't need to worry about her keys, but silently reminded herself that she couldn't bring out any of her spirits while she was around anyone other than Kenpachi, Yachiru, and Ichigo. Once she was ready, the Celestial mage nodded her thanks to Yumichika when he handed her a shinai, then took her place opposite of Ikkaku.

"Hope you're ready," he chuckled. "This isn't gonna be easy."

"I would hope not," Lucy smiled sweetly. She missed the way the bald man narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Otherwise, I'd be left wondering why you're third seat." Really, she had no idea what she was doing. It was the first time she'd even held a sword of any sort to begin with, and the only reason that the blonde knew she was doing it correctly was because she'd been watching the others to try and emulate them as best as possible.

"In one corner," Yachiru shouted. "Squad 11's third seat, Baldy the Jawbreaker-head!"

"Seriously, Lieutenant?!"

"And in the other corner… Squad 11's newest recruit, Loopy with the Double D's!"

Lucy blinked and looked down at her chest, then over to the girl.  _'Not even close,'_  she thought to herself, unaware that Kenpachi's thoughts were running along the same lines.

"Fight!"

Ikkaku rushed forward, his sword crashing down in a powerful arc. He scowled when Lucy dodged, rolling off to one side instead of letting their swords clash. "Don't tell me you're one of  _those_  fighters."

Lucy grunted when she was on her feet again and Ikkaku's sword instantly met with hers. How she'd been able to block it in the first place was beyond her, but she could feel just how much power the man held in how hard it was to keep their weapons from bashing her in the skull. And she could see it in the way her hands began to tremble.

Ikkaku grinned darkly and leaned forward, taking in the soft, feminine scent of the blonde. "That all you got, little lady?"

"Not by a long shot," she spat, her voice showing more confidence in her abilities than she really had.

The two jumped back from one another, then met again and again with harsh blows of wood against wood. Lucy didn't land a single hit on the bald shinigami, and did everything in her power to keep herself standing every time she was struck. Her arms, sides, face, legs. She could feel her bruises getting bruises every time she picked herself up off of the floor.

The air left her in a rush when his shinai cracked her ribs, and Lucy stumbled slightly, her eyes widening when her own wooden sword was knocked from her loosened grip before she was hit and knocked down.

Ikkaku scowled as Lucy stood up again, watching as a thin line of blood slid down the side of her face. "You don't know when to give up, do you?"

She smirked and shook her head. "I do, but I'm nowhere near my limit." She would be lying if she said her legs weren't trembling, but she wasn't going to accept defeat so easily. "Come on."

"Good…" He rushed forward and easily knocked the blonde to the ground, then grunted when her foot connected with his stomach and sent him skidding back a few feet. After another strong strike, he sighed when she toppled to the ground. "Just give up," he muttered. "This is just sad."

Lucy's arms trembled as she pushed herself up, wincing while she spit out a mouthful of blood. She really didn't need to keep going, but it was a point of pride for her. She was a Fairy Tail mage, a member of Team Natsu. Her surrogate brother had been training her for fights just like this, and while she hadn't gotten a whole bucketload of experience - something she was regretting by that point - she wasn't one to just give in. Not until she couldn't stand anymore.

"Seriously, you're not worth it."

Lucy clenched her hands, panting harshly as she stared at the floor through her eye that wasn't bathed in the blood from her forehead. She firmed her resolve, and shakily stood to her feet. "Shut up..."

Ikkaku chuckled darkly when the blonde got back into her shoddy attempt at a proper stance, then crouched down and rushed forward. One last strike was all it took, and he draped his shinai over his shoulders when she collapsed at his feet and didn't try to stand back up again. "Pathetic," he spat. "If you plan on making it here, then maybe you should work on landing a hit in the first place."

Lucy whimpered in pain as his footsteps receded, her eyes tightly closed against the world outside and shame coursing through her. Sure, she'd pretty much accepted that she wouldn't be able to beat him, but not even a single hit? This guy was on a whole other level than her, and all the little sparring match had done was strip away her dignity. A gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality, followed by a deep, tender voice.

"You did well, Heartfilia."

She slowly sat up, an arm wrapped around her waist, and looked up with slightly teary eyes to see Yumichika smiling down at her. When he offered her a hand, she hesitantly took it, then sighed when he pulled her to her feet. "Thank you," she whispered.

"No need to thank me," he chuckled quietly, leading the blonde off to the side where the captain and lieutenant were sitting. "The floor needed to get cleared, and it didn't look like you were getting up anytime soon."

"Yeah," she laughed wearily, leaning against the shinigami when her legs started to quake. The way her vision tunneled right then didn't even faze the blonde. "I-I'd probably… um…"

Yumichika frowned and looked down just in time to see Lucy's eyes flutter as she lost consciousness. The blonde was lifted into his arms when her legs buckled, and he finished making his way to the captain.

"Man, Baldy did a number on her, huh?"

"Yes, but… Ikkaku seemed to be enjoying himself," Yumichika mused. He paused and glanced back over to the center of the room where Ikkaku had started another match. "This woman didn't give up."

"She got her ass handed to her," Kenpachi sneered. "Fuckin' useless."

"Ken-chan," Yachiru frowned.

Kenpachi sighed and looked over to Yumichika and Lucy, then rolled his eyes. "Take her to lie down somewhere. Yachiru's barracks."

"S-Sir?" Yumichika blinked in surprise.

"That's where Loopy's been staying this whole time," Yachiru laughed. "You didn't think she'd be sleeping in the barracks with a bunch of guys, did you?"

"No, I guess not," Yumichika laughed. He reached down and pulled the strange whip-like zanpakuto up, resting it on the blonde's stomach, then turned and made his way out of the training room. It didn't take long to get from where the division's sparring was taking place to Yachiru's room, and he quietly carried Lucy over to the bed and laid her down.

For a moment, he simply watched the unconscious woman taking in shallow breaths. She'd taken quite the beating from his best friend, and while Yumichika did agree to a point that Ikkaku had every right to fight with her until she'd reached this point, it just didn't sit well with him. The woman was beautiful, and Yumichika had a hard time believing that he would have missed someone like her walking around  _anywhere_  in their division.

A quiet whimper wisped past her lips, and he let out a slow breath while standing and looking around to find a bowl and cloth.

Lucy's eyes fluttered open when she felt something warm and soothing carefully pressing against her forehead, and she looked through her only working eye - since the other was still caked with blood - to find the source of the odd comforting gesture.

"You're awake," Yumichika smiled softly.

"S-Sorry," she whispered, her brow pinching as pain bloomed right behind her eyes.

"Never apologize for losing a fight," Yumichika whispered as he continued cleaning her forehead. "While it might not be the result you want, you can always learn something from facing an opponent stronger than you."

"Was I… that bad?" Lucy winced when she saw his smile widen as he rung out the bloody cloth in a small bowl of warm water.

"I would say you might be better suited for Squad 4," Yumichika chuckled. "Luckily for you, I can heal you a little bit without having to call them up."

Lucy nodded, then whimpered again when her head started throbbing more insistently. Her eyes closed as Yumichika's hands rested tenderly over her head, and she sighed as a soothing wave of healing reiatsu flowed from him and into her. Her eyes slid open again once the warmth faded from his hands, and her breathing stopped for a moment as his fingers traced the line of her jaw.

"You aren't familiar in the slightest," Yumichika mused as the blonde's eyes opened again. "I would have noticed someone so beautiful."

She flushed slightly, but still gave him a tremulous smile. "I try to stay out of sight, I guess," she lied.

"Why would you be assigned here, though?"

Lucy shrugged and unconsciously leaned her cheek into his hand. Really, the way he spoke, how quiet he was, even his very odd sense of style, she could see the shinigami before her fitting right in with her friends. She could tell he was powerful, but he just seemed so much gentler than the rest of the people she'd met. Not as ready to jump into a fight and slaughter everyone. "Not a clue," she laughed, hissing in pain as her ribs protested the sudden jolt.

"You're still hurt?" Yumichika frowned.

"Just my ribs," she whispered. "I'll be fine."

Yumichika shook his head, then looked down to her kosode and nibbled his lip in indecision. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, because I'm sure you get enough of that from others in the division, but…"

Lucy blinked slowly and followed his gaze just before he looked away. "You, uh… need to look?"

He nodded. "I can try to help you a little," Yumichika said quietly. "Squad 11 isn't really known for our kido abilities, but I made sure to learn. You never know when it will be useful to heal your allies in a fight."

"If you want," Lucy sighed. The fact that another person would most likely be seeing her bra that day wasn't really bothering her all that much. It was just starting to border on insane, and all the blonde could do was accept that her undergarments were  _meant_  to be shown to the world. Not that she would start making a habit of showing them, though.

Her eyes lowered to watch Yumichika's slender fingers releasing the tie that held her hakama and kosode in place - that way she could hopefully figure out how to do it herself from then on. What she hadn't been expecting, however, was the bright pink flush to his cheeks when her pale pink satin bra was revealed to him.

A small shiver ran through her battered body when his hands carefully rested on her ribs. "Just here?" Yumichika gulped.

"Yeah."

He nodded again, sending a small bit of healing reiatsu into the blonde's body to work on easing her pain and mending the worst of her injuries. Once he was finished, Yumichika quickly closed her kosode, then turned his back to her - while staying seated on the edge of the smaller bed - to allow the blonde to adjust herself.

Once she managed to get her clothing in order, which was something the blonde was internally dancing in circles over, Lucy sat up and placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Thank you, Ayase-"

"Please," he chuckled. "Call me Yumichika. It's easier to remember."

"Then, call me Lucy," the blonde smiled softly. "Thank you, though. For helping me. I feel pretty embarrassed about how badly he beat me, but..."

The soft-spoken shinigami laughed and flipped his hair before eying the blonde again. "Ikkaku is third seat for a reason, Lucy. I can tell you that what you did, even though you lost quite beautifully, gained a little respect from the others that saw it."

"I-It did?"

"Yes," he nodded. "You may have been outmatched, but you didn't give up until you could no longer stand.  _That_  is what shows the others that you belong here."

A small smile struggled to pull up the corners of her lips. "I guess so," she whispered. She let out a soft breath while staring into his soothing, purple eyes, her smile widening slightly when all Yumichika did was smile back at her. "You don't really seem like the others here."

"I'm not," he nodded. "Then again, the rest of Squad 11 is just idiots that are obsessed with fighting."

"Even Captain Zaraki?" Lucy asked.

"He's no idiot," Yumichika laughed. "But he  _is_ obsessed with fighting. More than anyone else in the division."

"Then why are you different?"

"Because while they only focus on when their next fight will be, I prefer to find beautiful things and surround myself with them." When Lucy simply stared at him as though she was trying to figure him out, Yumichika reached up and cupped her slightly swollen cheek. "You fought beautifully, Lucy," he whispered. "It wasn't great, by a long shot, but the way you moved…"

"I guess I'm just used to using my… zanpakuto," she said softly, remembering at the last second to call her whip by what the people around her were used to. "It's always released, so…"

He stole a glance at the whip, his eyes narrowing curiously. "I would like to see what you're capable of with that," he mused. "It doesn't look as though it could do a whole lot of damage."

"Maybe, when I'm a little healed up… I could, um… show you?"

He chuckled quietly, looking at the blonde out of the corner of his eye. "I could meet you here tonight," he offered.

"Tonight?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Tonight. Just before sunset. There is a place Ikkaku and I use for training that's just breathtaking at sunset."

A light flush rose on Lucy's cheeks while she looked at the man before her. She wasn't attracted to him in the slightest - he was a little too feminine for her, and too young - but if he wanted to work with her and see what she could really do, then she was all for it. Besides, it wasn't as though she had anything else to do. She was stuck there until Crux was able to find any information on how to get her back home, so it was just a matter of filling the time until he finished his search.

The only thing that she was unsure of was whether or not Kenpachi would be alright with her going off on her own with one of his squad members.

"Well, I'll have to check with Yachiru," Lucy said, sounding more unsure by the second. It probably wouldn't sound right if she said that she needed to get the captain's approval. "I've been assigned to shadow her unless instructed otherwise, so...

"You have my word that nothing will happen while you're with me," Yumichika smiled brilliantly, flipping his hair again.

Lucy smiled and rolled her eyes.  _'He's gotta be gay. Straight men are just NOT that fabulous.'_ She shivered when his thumb brushed over her cheek, her eyes widening slightly as she saw his face moving closer to hers.  _'Oh god, maybe he's not gay. Is he gonna try kissing me?!'_

Yumichika's plump lips quirked as they lightly brushed against Lucy's ear. "You should get some more rest though, Lucy," he whispered. "Take advantage of the day off while you can."

"Y-Yeah," she stuttered, her cheeks flaming at the line of thought she'd had before. "Thanks again, Yumichika."

"If you'd like, I can let the lieutenant know that you'll be with me later on," he smirked, his lips lightly brushing over her cheek as he pulled back to look into her confused and slightly dazed eyes.

"Sure," she nodded absently.

"Good, now rest. I'll see you in about four hours." Yumichika gave the blonde one last brilliant smile, then stood and made his way to the door. Just before he closed it, he turned to look back at her, then shook his head and closed the door behind him once he saw that she was just staring off into space.  _'Beautiful,'_  he thought.  _'Even after a fight.'_

' _What just happened?'_  Lucy wondered while sitting in the quiet room she'd never been to before. She couldn't be sure, but it almost felt like she had just set up a date with Squad 11's fifth seat. Sure, she was going to be fighting with her whip, but still… All she could assume was that in this division, that was how they dated anyone.

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that Yumichika was someone she could really trust. He seemed a little on the narcissistic side, but really… She'd dealt with worse. And even with his flamboyant nature, she still liked him. He was sweet and enigmatic.  _'I could almost see Gajeel going for someone like him. If he wasn't so hung up on Cobra.'_

The thought of her pseudo-brother's nonexistent love-life made whatever smile had remained from her time with Yumichika disappear. She sighed and dropped back to the bed, throwing a hand over her eyes.

She missed Earthland, and Fairy Tail, and her friends and family. It had only been a few hours, but she didn't want to be without them. The thought that she could call Loke and find out if he had gone to the guild yet had hardly run through her head before she realized just how exhausted she was. Instead, she decided to put it off for a little while longer, and reached down to finally remove her god-awful sandals and weird little socks. She wasn't even concerned with trying to get her clothes off and into some semblance of normal clothing for where she was in regards to sleeping, and instead just rolled onto her side and closed her eyes.

' _I'll find a way to get home,'_  she thought while drifting off to sleep. For now, she just needed to rest. And later, she would have to figure out whether or not it was actually a date she'd agreed to with Yumichika. She didn't notice the presence that loomed just outside the window above the bed while she fell further into unconsciousness, or hear the quiet giggling that came from Squad 11's lieutenant while she ran off to tell Kenpachi about what she'd seen.

 


	3. A Little Loopy

 

Lucy was awoken hours later by the sound of light tapping on the door. Her eyes slid open and she sighed while slipping from the bed and crossing the unfamiliar room to answer it. She hadn't forgotten that she'd been transported to the Seireitei. No, Lucy remembered very well just what she'd been doing before falling asleep, but she did find it odd that she wasn't in pain any longer.

The door opened to reveal Yumichika wearing what she could only assume was an ever-present confident smile. "Feeling well-rested?" he chuckled.

Lucy smiled sleepily and nodded. "Come on in and let me just fix my hair." There was just one problem with that, though: she had no idea where the bathroom was. While Yumichika followed her inside and closed the door, Lucy's eyes darted around the room to find two identical sliding doors on one wall. He leaned against the wall and she turned to take a chance and open the one closest to her.

The fact that it was actually a bathroom had her nearly squealing for joy. Once inside, she went about freshening herself up, then looked in the mirror to find the two chopsticks Virgo had put her in hair were still in place. How they were still there, she wasn't sure, since it looked as though a whole flock of birds had decided to roost in the knotted golden locks. And of course she couldn't find a comb to save her life.

Biting her lips, the blonde pulled her keys out from her top and whispered the command to call out Cancer.

As soon as he appeared - thankfully without the loud chiming sound and puff of smoke - she threw a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. "Cancer," she whispered, "I need you to fix my hair."

"Do you have a date, ebi?" he whispered back.

"What? No, I… I don't think so…?" Within moments, she was ready and breathing a sigh of relief as he set the chopsticks in place as they'd been earlier. Lucy walked out of the bathroom, giving Yumichika a shy smile as he looked her way.

"That was fast," he chuckled. "All set?"

Lucy nodded, then paused and turned back toward the bed to grab her whip. Once it was settled in place on her new belt - she still had no idea what the wide slip of fabric around her waist was actually called - the blonde made her way over to Yumichika. "Ready when you are."

The two left Yachiru's barracks room and walked toward the edge of Squad 11's division, then out into the woods. They were completely silent, with Lucy unsure of what she should say, or what she even  _could_  say without giving away that she really wasn't from this place.

"So, which district did you come from?"

"District?" Lucy frowned.

"Yes," he laughed, holding a branch up for the blonde to walk past. "Zaraki in the north, Inuzuri in the south, you know."

"I, um…" Lucy turned an uncomfortable smile toward the shinigami at her side. "I don't know, actually."

Yumichika paused in his step, pulling Lucy to a stop as he frowned down at her. "Where are you from, Lucy?"

"Well," she said hesitantly. "I-I mean… I just… I can't really say, because…"

His frown deepened and his eyes narrowed. "I haven't seen you around here before," he whispered. "I've been thinking about it all day. You would have stood out."

"Y-Yumichika, I…" She was breathless as he grabbed her shoulders, forcefully turning her to face him. The way he towered over her had the blonde barely repressing a fearful shudder. "I-I just… I'm n-not allowed to say."

"And why would that be?" he scowled. There was no reason for the blonde to keep her roots a secret. Hell, he and Ikkaku had come from some of the lowest parts of the Rukongai, and their captain was from the North 80th, the most ruthless place there was, Zaraki District. "It was a simple question, Lucy."

Yumichika was positive he had never seen her before that day. She hadn't been in the division before, and she hadn't been shadowing Yachiru. If that was the case, then someone would have said  _something_  about the blonde being around their small lieutenant and the captain. Sure, Kenpachi had a pretty domineering presence, but Yumichika - along with everyone else - had noticed the blonde as soon as she'd entered the room right next to Kenpachi.

It was part of the reason he'd asked her to join him far away from the division. Yumichika wanted answers. If there was something going on, he wanted to know what it was and to stop it. Granted, he was sure that Kenpachi and Yachiru wouldn't be caught in some huge scheme - because his captain wasn't one for subversion - but something was just… off… about the blonde.

"I-I know," she stuttered. "I just. Captain Zaraki said I should keep it quiet, s-so…"

"Why lie?" Yumichika asked, pushing away from her and taking a small step back. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword while he continued. "You need to tell me the truth, Lucy. Because if you don't, then I'm not letting you leave this place."

Lucy took a hesitant step back, her eyes widening when she heard his blade click as it was unlocked from the sheath. "Wait, I… Please," she whispered. "I'm not trying to hurt anyone."

"I don't know that."

"I-I can't say, though," she said quickly, her feet shuffling back again. His sword moved in slow motion, in her eyes at least, as he drew it and a white flash of fear shot through her at the suddenly deadly gleam in his eyes.

"This your last chance, Lucy," Yumichika hissed. "Tell me why you're really here, trying to blend in with my division. What's your reason for getting close to Captain Zaraki?"

The blonde only shook her head in response. She screamed when he shot forward, his sword lifting into the air and ready to swing down at her as she stumbled on a rock and fell to the ground.  _'Loke!'_

A brilliant flash of golden light filled the forest around them, and Lucy's eyes shot open again when the familiar rattling of chains followed the chiming of her spirit's arrival.

"You will not harm my Princess," Virgo said flatly, tightening her chains around the slender, wide-eyed shinigami.

Lucy peeked around the maid spirit to find Yumichika's arms pulled above his head with his sword pinned to his back. Chains wound around his body, slowly tightening until he was red in the face. "Virgo, don't hurt him!" she shouted, scrambling from the ground to place a hand on her spirit's shoulder.

Virgo paused and turned toward Lucy, bowing low. "Punishment, Princess?"

"No punishment," Lucy sighed.

"P-Princess?" Yumichika rasped. He struggled against the metal that bound him, gasping as it tightened again. "Lucy, what is this?"

She sighed and nodded to Virgo, waiting until the pinkette released Yumichika. They both turned toward him as his sword dropped to his side. "It's supposed to be a secret, Yumichika. I… I have to know you won't tell anyone."

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"Promise me," she insisted, taking a hesitant step forward. "Kenpachi and Yachiru said I have to keep this quiet, or Central whatever might execute me."

"I won't promise anything until I know who you are," he frowned. "And who  _that_  is."

Lucy let out a weary sigh, nodding to her spirit.

Virgo took a step forward, bowing low. "Virgo, the Maiden constellation," she said, her face blank as she looked at the shinigami again.

"Constellation?" he asked, taking in her black dress and white apron, the shackles on her wrists with broken chains on the end.

"Virgo is a Celestial spirit," Lucy said softly. She placed a hand on her spirit's shoulder, silently telling her to close her gate. Her gaze stayed trained on Yumichika while he balked at the sudden disappearance of the pinkette.  _'I wonder why Loke didn't show up… Maybe he's just busy?'_

"And… what are you?" he asked warily.

"A human," Lucy whispered. "I don't come from your Living World though. I… Well, I'm a mage from Earthland, and I just kind of got thrown into Soul Society when some guy tried to hit me with a spell."

"You sound like a lunatic. There's no such thing as magic."

"The closest you guys have, from what I can tell, is kido. My whip is just that. A whip, not a sword."

"So, why are you here?" he asked, taking a slow step forward while keeping an iron grip on his zanpakutou. "Why are you with the Captain?" He hadn't been expecting her to blush right then.

"I fell out of the sky," Lucy laughed uncomfortably. "And landed right in the middle of Kenpachi and Ichigo fighting. Yachiru convinced him to just take me in, kinda like a lost puppy, y'know? And… Well, here I am. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing though…"

"So, you're not a shinigami," Yumichika whispered.

"Not at all," Lucy sighed. "I'm not even a  _soul_ … I mean, I just turned twenty a few months ago."

"You…" he blinked several times, his eyes cutting down to her hand as it dipped beneath her obi and watching as she pulled out a ring of keys.

"These are what I use to summon my spirits," Lucy said softly. She bit her lip and closed the distance between them so she was standing directly in front of him. "They're working on finding a way for me to go back to my own world, but I'm stuck here for a few days. So, I have to try and blend in."

Yumichika nodded slowly while the keys were tucked back into her obi. He sheathed his sword and let out a slow breath while taking her slender hands in his. "If the captain trusts you, then… I will too," he whispered. A slow smile crept over his full lips as her honey eyes widened and locked onto his face. "But, there are some things you'll need to learn if you want to keep your cover."

"I'm not doing very well, am I?" Lucy laughed.

"Well, the others in the division haven't started questioning things yet," he mused. "So, you're passable for now. If anyone else comes by though… I doubt they'll believe you for very long."

"Will you… help me?" Lucy whispered.

"Of course," he chuckled, lightly squeezing her hands in reassurance. "But first… I do believe we agreed to you showing me your whip."

Lucy flushed and nodded, her hands falling to her sides as Yumichika let them go.

"Come on, beautiful," he laughed over his shoulder. "Try to keep up!"

She rolled her eyes and started running after him, her smile widening and a little more of her anxiety fluttering away now that there was one more person who knew about her secret. Maybe things would be easier, now that Yumichika was on her side. He could help her understand the world she was stuck in a little better, and hopefully she'd be able to avoid an execution.

That would really be preferable.

* * *

_Deep crimson eyes narrowed as he ran down a corridor, searching for the lilting laugh that echoed and bounced around the halls. He ignored the children as they smiled up at him, when normally he would have given them a gentle smile in return._

_A quick flash of gold caught his attention, disappearing into the library._

_"Bunny…"_ _He turned on his heel and dashed to the heavy door. His fists pounded on the deep cherry wood when it wouldn't budge._

_"Let me in!" he roared. "Bunny, I'm here!"_

_"Gaj…"_

_His eyes rounded as he whirled in place, cold fear trickling through him and dancing in his gut with the desperation he'd been feeling before. He knew that voice._

_He knew it, but it wasn't the voice he wanted to hear. It was too deep. Too sad._

_That wasn't his little sister._

_"Gajeel…"_

_The Iron Slayer's hand sought out the heavy door knob behind him as a figure curled in the shadows of the hall. The children's laughter faded until there was only the sound of slow footsteps drawing closer. And closer._

_"Gajeel… Can... hear me?"_

_His breaths shortened and he desperately grasped at the metal, turning the knob to no avail. "Please," Gajeel whimpered. "I just want Bunny… I-I wanna bring her back!"_

_"Can… hear m...?" the figure asked._

_Just as the shadow came into sight, the door behind him was ripped open. Gajeel's eyes widened as he fell into a black abyss, catching the glimmer of shaded glasses and bright ginger hair, a pristine suit. "Loke!"_

_The Lion spirit dropped to his knees and reached for Gajeel, his glowing golden hand passing through Gajeel's as his body started to disappear. "Gaj…! Don't… she's st… live!"_

_Gajeel screamed as he was plunged into blackness, his voice drowning out the words of the spirit before he dissipated. His scream echoed back from the walls around him, even though he couldn't see any, making his head pound violently and threatening to send him spiralling into madness._

"Bunny!" Gajeel shot up in bed, pouring sweat and struggling to catch his breath. His arms barred around his stomach while trying to stave off the wave of nausea roiling in his gut.

"Gajeel…?"

_'Just a dream… Just a dream. It wasn't real. I didn't see Loke. It wasn't real. Bunny's dead. Remember! She's dead, dumbass. Not comin' back. I miss her so much. Bunny's dead. It wasn't real…'_

The Iron Slayer whimpered as a warm hand began rubbing slow circles over his bare shoulders. Tears of shame and regret burned in his eyes and his shoulders quivered as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

"Gajeel, I hear you," Cobra whispered into the darkened room. "It's okay."

_'Not okay. It's not okay. Bunny… She needed me. Should have kept her safe. I didn't see him. Just a dream. A dream… Just a… Cobra… Hold me… Don't let me go…'_

The Poison Slayer sighed and shifted on the bed, keeping the sheet over his hips as he moved to straddle Gajeel in their shared king-sized bed. "I've gotcha," he said, biting his lip as two strong arms latched onto him. He could feel every tremor running through the larger mage's body. And he could hear the way his soul was crackling as it descended into chaos. "I won't let you go."

"I-I thought… I-I…"

"I hear you," Cobra whispered. One hand burrowed into tangled raven hair as he pulled Gajeel's head to his shoulder. Two months had gone by since the funeral, and Gajeel woke up nearly every night in tears, mentally begging the blonde Celestial mage to return. Sometimes it was as simple as that. Others, he would see glimpses of her spirit, Loke.

Cobra really didn't understand just what the hell was going on though. In the morning, the Iron Slayer never remembered seeing Loke in his dreams. He would remember things about Lucy, but not the spirit.

In that two months, the orphanage that had once been the Heartfilia Konzern was up and running. There were nearly forty kids living in the manor, along with a full staff that helped to care for them.

He could still hear the pain in Gajeel's soul during the day, but the kids being around seemed to make it better. Still, there was something seriously wrong, and Cobra was at a loss for what to do. He knew nightmares like the back of his hand, but the shit that Gajeel was going through… Even being able to hear his soul… Cobra just didn't know what he could do for the Iron Slayer.

"D-Don't leave me," Gajeel sniffled. "P-Please… C-Cobra, don't-"

"Never," he promised in an instant. "We spent enough time dancing around being together. You're not gonna lose me now."

 _'I love him so much…'_  Gajeel lifted his head, teary ruby eyes locking onto the narrow indigo eye of his boyfriend. "I-"

Cobra lifted a hand and gently pressed his fingers to Gajeel's lips. "Don't," he whispered gently. "Don't say that right now." He let out a slow breath, bringing his lips to the Iron Slayer's in a gentle caress. "Don't say it when you're scared like this. Not the first time."

Gajeel nodded, returning the kiss with equal tenderness. "You already know though."

"I do," Cobra smirked. He slowly pulled his head back, giving the sniffling Slayer a gentle smile while brushing his hair from his face. "Are you gonna be alright?"

Gajeel sighed and lowered his head to the Poison Slayer's shoulder once again, brushing his nose over the coffee-colored flesh of his throat. "I dunno."

"Talk to me."

"You can hear it, though."

"Not the point," Cobra countered softly. "You need to say it. Get it off your chest."

"I won't remember in the morning…"

"Again," Cobra chuckled. "Not the point." It actually was starting to concern him that Gajeel didn't seem to remember everything that happened while he was awake in the middle of the night. Luckily, Cobra had an idea of who he could call to try and sort out his lover's dreams and (apparently) high-functioning fugue states.

"Yer gonna call up Macbeth, right?"

The Poison Slayer snorted. "I thought I was the mind-reader."

"You hear souls," Gajeel shot back weakly.

"Regardless, I want you to talk to me."

"Mmm," Gajeel hummed. His grip on the maroon-haired mage slowly loosened until his hands were caressing the scars on his back, then trailing down to his hips. "Next time," he whispered. "I'm tired…"

"Already?"

Gajeel nodded and let his eyes slide closed. The scent of their earlier activities was still hanging in the air - metal and cinnamon, garlic and almonds, trace amounts of blood from when their overly sharp teeth had bitten at one another - and his tongue snaked out to slither over his lover's chest. "Something's wrong with me," he whispered.

_'I'm going crazy. I shouldn't be seein' Loke. I just… I feel like he's tryin' to tell me something. Something important.'_

"You're not going crazy. If you were, I'd be the first one to tell you."

"If ya say so…"

Cobra sighed and carefully lowered the Iron Slayer to the bed. He watched and listened intently as the glittering crimson eyes of his lover went hazy before sliding closed. "I'll take care of you, Gajeel," he whispered, tenderly stroking the sweaty strands of hair and resting comfortably on his chest.

"I know," Gajeel smirked. His eyes cracked open, taking in the worry etched into his boyfriend's features, and his face fell. "You need to sleep…"

"I will," Cobra nodded. "I'm just gonna watch over you for a little bit." He leaned down and lightly nuzzled the broad expanse of flesh lying beneath him. "I'll try to keep the shitty dreams away this time."

"Think you can get my ass dreaming about you instead?" Gajeel chuckled.

"And have you cumming all over the bed? Hell no," Cobra laughed softly. "But, if you want, I'll let you fuck me in the morning."

"So fuckin' sweet," Gajeel sighed dreamily. His grip on the Poison Slayer's slim hips tightened before he held the smaller mage more firmly against him. They shared a series of slow, passionate kisses before he felt drowsiness closing in on him once again.

"Sweet dreams, Gajeel," Cobra whispered.

He waited until the Iron Slayer was unconscious, and then another ten minutes after that, before slowly pulling himself from the man's embrace. Placing his bare feet on the floor, Cobra ran a hand through his hair and glared at the lacrima on the nightstand. It was still weird as hell for him to be living in a place like this, with its lavish decorations still in place from when Lucy's father had owned the property.

Still, Cobra had made the choice to stay here with Gajeel and help the Iron Slayer get everything going. And once things had been fixed, with Crime Sorciere having stayed as well to help with the construction efforts, Cobra hadn't been able to leave. Maybe it was because he'd ended up having a very drunk Gajeel pinning him to a wall and kissing him senseless. Or it could possibly have been the fact that the Iron Slayer was a firm believer in switching, and gave just as good as he got in the bedroom.

Cobra knew the real reason he'd stayed. The Poison Slayer was tired of moving around. He wanted to settle down, to live the most normal life he could. And it definitely helped that he'd really been head over fucking heels for the crass, metal-eating bastard.

Slowly, he reached over to the lacrima and laid himself in the bed again while sending a small bit of magic into the orb. Just as he was settled in Gajeel's arms - because the guy couldn't get enough of holding him, and Cobra was never going to complain about it in the first place - with his head resting on a muscular bicep, a pale face decked to the nines with makeup was staring back at him.

"Yes, Cobra?" Macbeth asked.

"I need your help."

"I figured as much," he chuckled. "You're not really one for calling to chat about the weather."

"Gajeel's having nightmares… About Lucy and her spirit." He quickly relayed the most important information about the Iron Slayer's dreams, and the fact that he didn't remember most of what happened come morning, and found himself nervously chewing his lower lip at the contemplative frown on his friend's face. "I'm not one to worry, but… He said… Or, thought really… Anyway, it was different from the norm."

"What's that?" Macbeth whispered.

"He thinks Loke's trying to tell him something important," Cobra sighed. He let out a soft smile at the lilting melody in Gajeel's soul that accompanied a much more docile dream. The quiet gust of warm breath that feathered across his scalp had him sighing in relief. Just a normal dream now. That was good. "I know you know more about this shit than anyone. Any ideas?"

Macbeth's frown deepened as he nodded slowly. "We'll be coming by in the next couple weeks," he said after looking away from the orb for several moments. "I'll talk to Sorano, see if she knows anything about Celestial spirits trying to contact people like this. Maybe…"

Cobra blinked slowly as the Reflector mage hesitated. "... Maybe?"

"Maybe… I don't want to get his hopes up, but… Maybe this spirit of Lucy's is trying to talk to Gajeel. Maybe they're not nightmares… I'll watch him when we come to you guys though, so I can see what you're talking about. Let me know if it gets worse."

Cobra nodded only once, huffing sleepily as the orb went dark. It was a habit they'd long ago forged - never saying goodbye to end a call. He placed the lacrima back on the nightstand and turned in Gajeel's arms, tucking himself into the broad, muscular chest of his slumbering boyfriend and suppressing an aroused shiver when he felt nothing but bare flesh caressing his own.

"We'll figure it out, Gajeel," Cobra whispered as he closed his eye. He spent several minutes listening to the gentle waves of a vast ocean in the other Slayer's soul, then let out a secretive smile as he added, "And I love you, too."

* * *

Lucy's arm was around Yumichika's waist, her other barely hanging onto Ikkaku's, as they wove through the streets of the upper Rukongai. Her cheeks were flushed with the potent sake that Yumichika had treated her to after their impromptu sparring session, and her feet were having a hard time moving according to her muddied directions.

She'd learned so much about the two men that were trying to escort her back to the barracks she would be sharing with Yachiru. Ikkaku had some of the best luck out there, and she'd had both him and Yumichika cracking up when she held the bald shinigami down at the bar and licked his head for some of that luck to rub off on her.

Yumichika was a total diva, but he was still a man's man. Somehow. The fact that he'd pulled her up onto a table and got the blonde to dance was a sure sign that he could drop some panties when he was so inclined. Men weren't supposed to be so damn pretty, and it just wasn't fucking fair that his hips could move the way they had.

Ikkaku had a great sense of humor, and it was insanely easy to get him riled up and fighting people. Lucy wasn't sure just when she'd decided that getting her new friends into fights was a good idea, but it had apparently been a wise choice, considering her company. Ikkaku had been nothing but smiles after beating the snot out of a few guys.

"Who woulda thought," Ikkaku slurred to Yumichika, tightening his grip on the blonde's waist when she stumbled, "Me an' you would get to escort our babe back to the barracks?"

Yumichika hummed and rested his head on top of Lucy's, also tightening his grip on her waist where his arm crossed over Ikkaku's on her lower back. "Don't make her sound like a… Oh, what's that word... Sleeps around and all..."

"A hooker?" Lucy giggled. "No hooks for me. Poles… Mmm, I  _love_  poles though."

The three stumbled as they started laughing, Ikkaku nearly taking them all down when he ran into the corner of a building. "I jus' mean… The babe in the  _squad_. Y'know…" His voice hitched higher as he tried to mimic Yachiru. "'Loopy with the Double D's!'"

"Try 34G," she groaned. "Yun-Yun, trade me. I want a flat chest." Lucy couldn't remember when Yumichika had gotten the shortened name, but she was sure it happened at some point between their first bar and the second one they'd stumbled into. Maybe.

"Why not trade with Ikkaku?" he tittered.

"Because Ikka-kun would just beat me up," she pouted, turning saddened eyes toward the suddenly gaping bald shinigami. "Wouldn't you… Big ol' meanie…"

"H-Hey, we were sparring," Ikkaku said quickly. "Y'know, no hard feelings." His eyes cut to Yumichika, only to find a lazy, drunken grin on his friend's face. "Don't get all teary-eyed and shit."

Lucy laughed and shifted so her head was resting on Ikkaku's chest. Her cheek nuzzled his top as she gazed up into his eyes. "Nope. Only girls cry, and I'm a REAL MAN!" She suddenly completely understood why Elfman bellowed that shit at the top of his lungs all the time. It was rather freeing.

"I doubt that," Ikkaku chuckled.

"With those 34G's," Yumichika nodded, "I would never have guessed."

Lucy giggled again and wrenched herself from their holds, spinning so she was walking backwards. "Because I'm a super secret spy," she crooned. Her hips swayed with each step she took, her arms lifting to her sides as though she was balancing on the canal back in Magnolia.

Ikkaku snorted and rolled his eyes. "Sure you are." He winked at Yumichika, then both shot forward with a blazing flash step and snatched the blonde up in their arms.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" Lucy giggled, still smiling when they returned to their original positions of mostly keeping her upright. Part of her was sure that she was keeping them standing as well. "Ikka-kun your sword's poking me!"

"Thankfully, it  _is_  his sword," Yumichika crooned. "Think of what else it could have been."

"Aw, fuck y-" Ikkaku began, only to pause and stare down at the blonde.

"You're right, Yun-Yun. It could've been a penis. One of those big throbbing ones!" Lucy gasped and turned horrified eyes on Ikkaku, an amused smile teasing her lips. "Ikka-kun, be gentle with me!"

"He'll be gentle," Yumichikia whispered into her flushed ear, grinning when she turned to look at him. Their breath mingled and the feathers he'd attached to his lashes brushed lightly over her flushed cheek. "Out of the two of us, I'm the monster."

"I-Is that so…" Her eyes cut down at a flash of pink stole across his lower lip.

"If you're a monster, then I don't even wanna know what to call the captain," Ikkaku sighed.

"O-Oh?" Lucy whimpered. Yumichika's grin settled into a teasing, lazy smirk that made her chest tighten and fire rush to her cheeks before making a bee-line to her sex.  _'Men are NOT supposed to be this pretty.'_

"A downright demon," Yumichika whispered.

"Sounds about right."

Lucy blinked at the third, deeper voice that sounded from just behind them. She felt the shinigamis on either side of her stiffen, and looked over her shoulder with widening eyes at the enormous shadow she found.

"C-Captain," Yumichika stuttered, loosening his grip on the blonde and turning toward Kenpachi.

His only visible eye cut down to the blonde standing between two of his men. He instantly noticed the obvious flush to her cheeks and how her lower lip was being abused so harshly by her teeth. He could only assume it was alcohol, and that the story Yachiru had told him earlier about Yumichika asking Lucy out was true.

To what extent, it didn't really matter to him. His men could do what they pleased, within reason. Fighting, sure. Banging some women, sure. Hell, he was fine if his men wanted to fuck one another. But the rub was that seeing both his third and fifth seat holding onto her the way they were, and how close Yumichika's lips had been to hers… It just really made him want to slice the guy open.

' _Fuck me, her tits…'_  Why the hell was her top opened more than it had been earlier? Kenpachi knew he shouldn't be feeling a damn thing where the blonde was concerned. And he definitely didn't need to start thinking about running his tongue between her creamy breasts.

So just why in the hell did it matter in the slightest if she was going to let not one, but fucking  _two_  dudes bang her? Kenpachi didn't give a shit about that. Really, he didn't.

But, he'd said he would take care of her, in a sense. Yeah, if she made some shitty decisions while under his care, he wouldn't take the blame for it, but he  _had_  made a promise to Yachiru just that afternoon that he'd keep an eye on the blonde. She didn't know a damn thing about the world she was in, and while Kenpachi was ninety-eight percent sure that Yumichika's asshole had serviced at least a third of the male members of the Gotei 13 at some point - and that he was well on his way to making it a solid forty percent - and that Lucy would be safe around a guy like him… He wasn't so sure right then.

And fuck, all the back and forth in his head was just making him mad.

"Headin' somewhere?" Kenpachi finally asked.

"Leading Lucy-san back to the barracks," Ikkaku said, clearing his throat at standing up just a little straighter.

Lucy gulped as Kenpachi glared down at her, his eye gleaming brightly, nearly glowing in comparison to the night sky above him. "Yun-Yun and Ikka-kun were just being friendly," she whispered. "Since I'm new, and all…"

"Uh-huh," he hummed. Suddenly, a small flicker of disrupted reiatsu crackled over his flesh. "Well, how about you come with me before you get lost in a fucking ditch? I'm takin' Yachiru home now."

And just like that, Lucy forgot just who she was talking to. Well, it was more like she forgot that he was supposed to be shown respect by his subordinates, which she was pretending to be. Apparently, her vagina had decided to speak for her. She could practically feel the little slitted bastard crawling up and replacing her mouth, but the four - or was it six? - bottles of sake she had gone through with Ikkaku and Yumichika made her give so few shits about that, it wasn't even funny. Her lips pushed out into a pout and she stumbled toward the Squad 11 captain, placing her hands on his chest to steady herself. "But  _Captain_ ," she crooned, "I wanna see a demon."

Kenpachi blinked slowly, outwardly unfazed by Lucy's actions. Thankfully, no one was aware of just what her body pressing against him was doing to the small bit of control he actually had over himself. "No."

Yumichika and Ikkaku sobered quite a bit when Kenpachi's single visible eye lifted to them. "We're gonna just…" Ikkaku cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Get to the barracks now…"

"Y-Yes," Yumichika nodded. How Lucy wasn't even remotely fazed by the sudden increase in Kenpachi's reiatsu, he wasn't sure, because to the two shinigamis standing before the hulking captain, it was stifling.

Lucy turned and gave them a drunken grin. "Thanks for tonight," she giggled. "Bye, Yun-Yun. Ikka-kun."

Yachiru peeked her head over Kenpachi's shoulder, grinning down at the blonde whose head was suddenly resting on his stomach. "Loopy, did the guys take you out?"

"Mm-hmm," she hummed, looking up to Kenpachi's unamused expression. Her eyes squinted, then she reached up with both hands and grasped his cheeks. "There are two of you. Make them stop… wiggling… so much."

"Tch," he scoffed, shaking her hands away. Without another moment's hesitation, he lifted Lucy and waited until she was holding onto his other shoulder. "Don't fall down. And don't fuckin' puke on me."

"Ugh… 'M so dizzy…" Lucy groaned while pulling herself higher on his shoulder as Kenpachi started walking toward the barracks she would be sharing with Yachiru, letting out a large sigh once she could see his profile. "You remind me of Gajy… He's grumpy, like you are."

"That's nice."

"You're sweaty…" She could smell the fresh sweat that had beaded on the side of his neck, and her tongue darted out across her lips wantingly. "Bet it tastes yummy."

"Keep your tongue to yourself."

"Mmkay," Lucy giggled. She shifted and wrapped her lips around his pulse point, pulling back when he went rigid.

He sneered at the blonde who was licking her lips as though she'd just dipped the damn things in a barrel of sugar. "What the actual fuck…"

Lucy giggled again, her eyes half-lidded. "I was curious," she whispered huskily. "My tongue didn't touch you though, so you can't get mad." She licked her lips again, then pulled her lower lip into her mouth and let out a contented hum.  _'He tastes so damn good...'_

"Keep that shit to yourself," he grumbled, continuing on his way.

"You really do remind me of Gajeel though," Lucy sighed. "He's my big brother. But he's gay. Like,  _super_  gay for Cobra. Even though Cobra used to be a criminal, but so was Gajy at one point… kinda… I mean, they both tortured me… sorta… Well, Cobra tortured me by proxy by helping to put me in a fishy clock. So they've got some common ground."

Yachiru laughed while peering around Kenpachi's face to look at the blonde. "Ken-chan, she's being weirder than normal."

"Sake will do that to ya, Yachiru. Just ignore her."

"I hope you're not gay, too," Lucy sighed. "That would be a, uh… tapestry. No… A trapped pastry… No…"

"What's she going on about?" Yachiru asked, her head tilting to one side.

"A travesty!" Lucy shouted. "It'd be a  _travesty_  if you were gay."

Kenpachi rolled his eyes and continued walking. He was the furthest thing from gay humanly possible. Granted, it had been quite a while since he'd taken some time to get with a woman for the night. Or even a few hours. If he thought about it, he hadn't really indulged those baser desires since before finding Yachiru.  _'Fuck, no wonder the bitch is tying me up in knots…'_

Some hot piece of ass from another world entirely. How could he not be intrigued at least a little bit? But, that's all it was. As soon as Lucy was gone, things would go back to normal. He wouldn't be concerned with  _not_  picturing her laid out on his bed, screaming his name, struggling to breathe when he really let loose. That was the worst part, and part of the reason he never tried, in finding a woman to bed. If he got into it, really got into it, his minimal control on his reiatsu tended to suffocate them. Or, cut off their oxygen until they tapped out or he finished before it killed them.

That was too much of a hassle, though, so Kenpachi just never bothered after he found Yachiru. The little girl was always with him anyway, at least, until they'd come to the Gotei 13. Now she occasionally slept in her own room. More often than not, she was still sleeping next to him, curled up in his bed, and there was nothing he wanted to do about stopping her.

"I mean, you  _could_  be gay, and I'd never know. Yun-Yun looks like he'd take a dick in the butt, but you could… Y'know… be into that too. It'd kill me inside, right in the soul-place, but..."

Kenpachi sighed, intently ignoring the blonde while he rounded a corner. Just another few buildings and they would be at the barracks. Specifically, they'd be at Lucy and Yachiru's room, which was only a door away from Kenpachi's. He already knew the little pinkette was just going to stay with him until Lucy was gone, so it was just a matter of picking up her uniforms and-

Lucy groaned and he heard the telltale belch she tried to swallow. His eyes closed as Lucy promptly threw up on the side of his neck, and down his chest. He counted to ten, just like someone had mentioned people did to cool their temper. Twice. On the third go 'round, the blonde slipped off his warm, moist fucking shoulder and crumpled to the ground.

Yachiru's nose wrinkled while looking down at Lucy's unconscious form. "Are we still ignoring her?"

He wanted to say yes so fucking bad it hurt. "No," he groaned.

"Y'know, if the sake made her throw up on you, then it's kinda the guys' fault, right? They're a bad influence on poor, innocent Loopy."

He was tempted to just drag the blonde across the ground while she was out like a light, but he was partially civilized. Enough to heft the woman over his shoulder once again, more like a sack of potatoes than a human being, and continued on his way.

"Aw, Ken-chan that's so sweet," Yachiru giggled. She gave her adoptive father a toothy grin when he glared at her.

"Not now, Yachiru. I'm not in the mood for-"

"But I heard that puking on someone is a sign of affection."

"Where are you hearing shit like this?"

"Jugs," she said firmly.

"Toshiro's lieutenant?"

"Yeah. Not the Ginger Jugs. She's Jiggles. And way too sweet to tell me about what Shuuhei does when-"

"No more," he groaned. "I'm killing all of Squad 10. It's decided."

"You're not killing Loopy-chan first?"

He opened the door to Yachiru's room and walked over to the bed. Then dropped Lucy on the ground instead. "... I'm still debating that…"

"I'll get my stuff," Yachiru chirped. "You go take a bath. You stink more than normal."

"That would be the vomit."

She grinned while calling out from the bathroom. "It's Loopy's Love Nectar!"

Normally, a perverse thought or two would have run through his head. But right then? There was no way in hell he could even stomach it. Lucy rolled onto her side on the ground, her face scrunching up uncomfortably just before she vomited again. Right on Kenpachi's foot. He knew then… he was definitely going to beat someone's ass for the sudden shitstorm his night had turned into, that was for damn sure.

 


	4. Look, Woman

 

Lucy woke up early the following morning with her eyes shooting open as frigid, iced water was poured over her head. She sat up from the floor, sputtering and coughing, and pushed her hair from her eyes.

"Morning, Loopy!" Yachiru laughed. She tossed the bucket onto the floor and lifted a second, then dumped it on the blonde.

"Wh-What the hell?!" Lucy screeched. She was glad the second bucket wasn't nearly as cold. "Why do you have two - YACHIRU!"

The pink-haired lieutenant laughed while setting a third bucket on the floor next to the others. "What? You puked last night. I'm just cleaning."

Lucy frowned and looked down at herself, then to the floor, and blanched when she realized that she'd been lying in drying vomit. "O-Oh, that's disgusting." What she couldn't understand though was why she didn't have a hangover. Based on the fact that she threw up, Lucy knew she'd been hammered. Okay, and because the last thing she really remembered was laughing with Yumichika and Ikkaku.

"You should've seen Ken-chan."

"Why?" Lucy didn't want to know. She really,  _really_  didn't.

"You threw up on him both times."

That just made the blonde want to crawl under a rock and die. Or maybe she could get the sword-happy captain to slice her to ribbons. "I didn't…"

"You did," Yachiru nodded. "A lot."

"Oh, Mavis…"

"I don't know what a Mavis is, but you asked if he was gay."

"No…"

"And you almost licked him."

"I-I didn't though… right?" Lucy whimpered.

"No, but you put your lips on his neck and then licked the sweat off." Yachiru paused while lifting a fourth bucket from the floor. "Do people lick sweat where you come from?"

"O-Oh my god…"

"He's not, though."

Lucy barely noticed the water being poured on her. "Huh?"

"Gay," Yachiru said. "Ken-chan's just too busy fighting to waste time with girls."

A small part of Lucy wanted to cry at hearing that. It wasn't that she necessarily wanted to date the man, and she knew it was a horrible idea in the first place to even think of him in any way aside from the fact that he was doing her a solid by keeping her identity a secret. But she'd always had a thing for older men. Hell, her little fling with Gildarts a while back had proved to the blonde that older men just understood her a whole lot better than the guys her age. Granted, she valued her friendship with Cana more than that, so she'd told the Crash mage it couldn't continue.

But Kenpachi… Well, he had that whole rugged, manly man appeal to him. Just rough enough around the edges to draw her attention.

She could go on and on about it all, but as a fifth bucket of water was thrown on her, the blonde was pulled out of her swirling thoughts. "Where the hell are you getting these buckets from?!"

Yachiru simply shrugged, then laughed as the blonde vaulted from the ground and started to chase her out of the room. Her real intention hadn't been to clean up the mess that Lucy had made, but to wake her up. And really, it was just too much fun throwing water on the blonde.

"Yachiru, get back here!" Lucy bellowed. She was on a single-minded mission to catch the little girl, and didn't pay any attention to where they were heading or the fact that she was completely soaked. At least the remnants of her night of drinking had been washed off of her clothes and face. And out of her hair.

Yachiru's laughter split through the air as she darted across the square and over to the training room the division used. What surprised her, however, was that as soon as she reached the open doors and found Kenpachi fighting against several lower members of the division, she was tackled from behind.

"Now you're gonna get it," Lucy hissed. She forcefully rolled the wide-eyed girl over, not noticing how all the men in the room had stopped to stare at the spectacle she was making. Without a moment's hesitation, the blonde pulled her hair off to one side, then rung it out on Yachiru's face.

The men facing off against Kenpachi were struck to the ground while their backs were turned, and their bodies scattered across the wooden floor in groaning heaps. "Next!" Kenpachi called out. "Yumichika. You're up."

Lucy's head lifted from watching as the pinkette beneath her sputtered and swatted at the water pouring on her face, and her eyes widened in horror when she realized just where they were at.

"And Heartfilia," Kenpachi growled while his fifth seat got up from his place along the wall to stand before him. "Get the fuck off of her."

Lucy blanched and scrambled away from Yachiru, instantly coming to stand at attention. "S-Sorry, Captain!"

Yachiru shook the moisture from her hair while standing up, then looked up at Lucy in thought for a long moment. "Lucy," she whispered.

"Y-Yes, Lieutenant?"

She gave the blonde a small smile, then grabbed her hand and started leading her back outside. "You should probably get into a clean uniform. And put your double-D's away."

Lucy blinked and looked down at herself. "Oh my god…" Why her top was opened all the way down to her navel, she hadn't a clue. But that definitely explained the perverted leers she was getting right then as a few more members of the division passed by.

Yachiru smiled kindly up at the beet-red blonde, then lightly patted her hand as she worked to close her top. "I'll walk you back. You probably don't know where the room's really at just yet."

"Y-Yeah," Lucy sighed. "Thanks, Yachiru."

"No problem!" she grinned. The two started making their way back toward the barracks and she gazed silently up at the blonde that was still holding her hand. "Hey, Loopy?"

"Hm?"

"You're pretty fast when you wanna be, huh?"

"Yeah," Lucy laughed, sheepishly scratching the back of her head. "I kinda got used to it."

"How come?"

"Well, my partner Natsu… He's got this Exceed, Happy. He's a blue cat with wings."

"Your partner's a cat?"

"Oh! No, Happy is… But, he teases me a lot, so I've kinda gotten used to chasing him and catching him before he can fly off."

Yachiru giggled while looking at the reminiscent smile on the blonde's face. "And do you always soak your captives in water?"

"No," Lucy grinned darkly. "I usually spit on Happy. You lucked out, Yachiru." They passed by a group of shinigamis, and one of the men hawked a loogie and spat on the ground. "Like that. Just… all over his body."

Yachiru couldn't contain her laughter as they continued on their way, shaking her head all the while. And as soon as the door to their room was opened, she led the blonde inside and said, "Well, Ken-chan was bathing for an hour last night just to get your  _fluids_  off of him."

Lucy visibly flinched.

"It's okay. I'm pretty sure it's a sign of endearment."

"Wh-Who the hell is telling you stuff like that?!"

Yachiru smirked while walking toward her closet, pulling out the larger shihakusho for the blonde that had miraculously appeared there at some point the day before. "Baldy and Yun-Yun."

Lucy shook her head in bewilderment while making her way toward the bathroom. She definitely needed a quick shower, and to brush her teeth. That was a must.  _'Men are total pigs.'_

* * *

"Man, something's got Captain Zaraki in a shit mood today."

"I know. It's too bad the new girl isn't from Squad 4."

"What I wouldn't give to have her heal me."

Lucy winced as she and Yachiru returned to the training room, and it took everything in the blonde not to just run the hell away when she saw the mostly unconscious, groaning piles of bodies that were surrounding Kenpachi. One particularly high pile had Yumichika lying at the very bottom, with only his perfectly manicured nails and the little feathers he wore on his eyebrow visible.

"Oh, Baldy's up!" Yachiru laughed. "C'mon, Loopy. This'll be good…"

Just as Lucy moved to follow Yachiru, Ikkaku went flying through a wall. She stared in horror at the size of the hole his body had left in the building.

"... And fast," Yachiru said. "I wonder who's next."

"Heartfilia!" Kenpachi yelled. "Just in time."

The overwhelming amount of fear in Lucy's wide eyes was mirrored in her trembling limbs. But this was what needed to happen. Kenpachi had gotten rid of the majority of his aggravation from the night before by sparring, but it wasn't nearly enough. And the fact that he'd been able to take most of it out on the two - by Yachiru's explanation - reasons behind it, namely Yumichika and Ikkaku, was even better.

But there was still one issue. Lucy.

"C-Captain?" Lucy whimpered as a shinai was placed in her hands. Who had given it to her, she couldn't be too sure, because all Lucy was seeing was the domineering man standing so far away, yet close enough that she was sure she could see the flames licking their hungry little chops in his single grey eye.

"Your turn," Kenpachi spat.

Lucy moved forward on shaking legs, barely able to hold the wooden sword in both hands. She stopped several feet away, and even still… It felt like death was crawling closer to her. But maybe this was just supposed to be a little playfighting. Just enough for the division to see that she wasn't getting special treatment for being a woman.

Maybe Kenpachi would go a little easy on her, considering he knew that she hadn't a clue what she was really doing.

Then again, as she screamed and dove to one side to avoid the heavy blow of his sword, Lucy wasn't feeling all that hopeful of him going easy on her.

"Fight like a man!" he roared, slashing at the evasive blonde again.

"I don't use a damn sword!" Lucy shrieked. How she managed to get the Captain's shinai to glance off of her own while cowering in a ball on the ground was beyond her. Especially when, as soon as she was standing up, he hit it a second time and snapped the stupid thing in half. Then continued and hit her right in the head.

"It's broken," he muttered as the blonde tried to get up from the ground. "Pull out your zanpakuto. That was just sad."

Lucy shook her head to clear it just a little, instantly reaching for her whip that was still coiled at her waist. She snapped it off to one side, using her free arm to swipe away at the blood trickling down her forehead.  _'And I just showered! Oh god, my head's killing me.'_

Before the Celestial mage could even think to defend herself, Kenpachi's shinai was slashing down at her once again.

"You wanna be a part of  _my_  squad," he sneered while glaring down at the heap on the ground, "Then you'd better man the fuck up."

A wheezing grunt left her as his sandal-covered foot connected with her stomach, sending her flying out of the open doors. Tears welled in her eyes while she struggled to breathe, but she could feel him coming closer even as she rolled across the unforgiving ground and it scraped at her arms and face.

"I don't care that you're a woman. You either fight, or you leave." His scowl deepened when he caught the sight of her barely opened eyes looking up, searching for his face with tears on her lashes. "Don't waste my time with tears, because that won't get you anywhere."

"Captain Zaraki."

Kenpachi continued staring down at Lucy for another moment, then slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder at the owner of the deep, masculine voice he hated to hear. "Whaddya want, Pretty Boy?" he spat.

Captain Byakuya Kuchiki and his lieutenant, Renji Abarai, of the 6th Division made their way over, with the grey-eyed noble gazing down at the blonde woman on the ground. "Is there a reason you are abusing this woman?"

"Breaking in new recruits," Kenpachi answered.

"You…" Renji stared down at the blonde, his burnished orange eyes widening in shock. " _She's_  in your squad?"

"Abarai," Byakuya said softly.

Without another word, the redhead knelt on the ground and rolled Lucy onto her back to check her for injuries. He remembered all too well what 'breaking in' in the 11th Division really meant with Kenpachi Zaraki as the captain. It was hell on the body and even worse for the ones who weren't suited for his way of leading. And this woman, he could tell just by looking at her… She wasn't meant for this.

"We have come to recruit members of your division," Byakuya said while looking around, suppressing a disgusted wrinkling of his nose. "It has been the required three-month grace period."

"Go ahead," Kenpachi shrugged. "They're trash. No fighting spirit."

"Hey, are you alright?" Renji whispered. He carefully brushed her hair from her face, wincing at the long bruise forming on her soft, flushed cheek and the small dots of blood from scrapes here and there on her face. "Can you hear me?"

"Might as well take her, too," Kenpachi sneered while Yachiru jumped up to sit on his shoulder. "She's not cut out for this squad."

"F-Fuck you," Lucy whimpered.

Renji drew back in surprise as fiery honey eyes opened and locked onto the Squad 11 captain. Her chest rattled with short, wheezing breaths as she pushed his hands away and sat up slowly. "Uh…"

"Sorry,  _Princess_ ," Kenpachi snorted. "Couldn't hear ya. But lemme tell you somethin'. Take the out. My division is full of the best damn fighters in the Gotei 13, and if-"

"And if I w-want to stay," Lucy shot back, grinding her teeth together as she forced herself to stand. "Then I'll damn well stay."

Where she was getting the motivation to do much more than cry in a little ball on the ground, she wasn't sure. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that there were other members of the military, not in Kenpachi's division, that were around. Like the rather handsome guy with long red hair and tribal, tiger-like striped tattoos on his face and neck that had been kneeling next to her. Or the stoic, raven-haired man wearing a haori, watching her with narrow, calculating eyes that reminded her of the high society folks back home.

But all Lucy could think of was how Gajeel had told her one thing that really stuck with him.

" _Bunny, you stood up to my ass back then. You stand up to a bully, and you'll probably get yer ass kicked, but that gets you some fuckin' respect. Every time. Didn't matter to me that you were in tears. You called my ass out and you didn't stop fightin'. That's what makes you number one badass, every damn time."_

"H-Hey," Renji said as he stood up just next to her. "Maybe you should just relax, okay?" He gulped slightly when there was a sudden spike in Kenpachi's reiatsu, but the blonde didn't seem to be affected by it in the slightest.

"You can't intimidate me," she hissed. "You can beat me, torture me, shackle me to a wall and use me as a target…" Okay, maybe she was drawing from her experience with Gajeel just a little bit. "No matter  _what_ you do, I'll keep fighting."

"To the death?" Kenpachi asked with a raised brow.

"Good luck killing me, asshole," Lucy shot back. "I might be a woman, but if you let me actually  _use_  my zanpakutou, I'll take out any guy in this shithole you send my way." With the exception of Ikkaku. And Yumichika. And obviously, Kenpachi. But that wasn't the point.

"She has a point, Ken-chan," Yachiru said with a thoughtful pout. "Everyone uses shinais, because their zanpakutou are swords… but Loopy's zanpakutou is a whip."

"Ask Yumichika if you don't believe I'm better with my own zanpakutou," Lucy added. "I sparred with him yesterday  _after_  Ikkaku beat me."

Renji gave his own captain a curious frown, but wisely - for once - stayed silent on what they were witnessing.

"Well, I don't fuckin' want you here," Kenpachi snarled. He took a step forward to tower over Lucy, glowering down at the defiant fire in her eyes. "You aren't cut out for-"

"For what?" Lucy asked. "Fighting until I'm dead like the rest of the division? Tell me, is it because you're afraid I'll put all the men to shame without having a dick of my own between my legs?"

"... Wow," Renji whispered.

"This isn't a place for the weak!" Kenpachi roared. "And that's exactly what the hell you are!"

All at once, Lucy's desire to fight back fled. It was crushed with just a few choice words, but they were the ones that she always feared being thrown at her. It didn't matter how many enemies she'd faced before. That had always been the chink in her armor. Even when her enemies said it to her, it didn't faze her nearly as much as Kenpachi's words did, when it shouldn't have mattered in the slightest.

The suddenly smothering atmosphere that broke within her chest had the blonde at a loss for what to do. She could have continued arguing, but that wasn't going to lead her anywhere. She could already tell. She could yell and scream about how she wasn't weak, that she'd proven it to herself and the ones that she'd fought against time and again. But no matter how much Lucy wanted to tell the hulking man before her that he was dead wrong, she just couldn't.

"M-Maybe I  _am_  weak," Lucy finally admitted, fighting to keep her lips from trembling even as several tears sliced their way down her cheeks. She sniffled quietly while coiling her whip and setting it back in place on the tie at her waist. "But that doesn't give me any less right to be in a place I could get stronger, so…" She paused and swiped at the telling evidence of just how upset she was, refusing to look away from Kenpachi's deep scowl. "F-For as long as I'm here… that's what I'll do."

The small group watched in silence as Lucy turned with her back straight and her head held high. She may have been limping while walking away from them and back toward the barracks, but she was still standing tall, looking for all the world as though nothing could touch her.

"Ken-chan," Yachiru whispered. "That wasn't very nice."

"I really don't care, Yachiru. If she's gonna be here, then she'll do it my way." He ignored the blonde after that, turning back toward the training room with his eyes set on his next batch of idiots.

Renji shook his head and moved to stand by his captain once again, then tore his gaze from the unknown blonde woman to look at the grey-eyed noble. "That was sure something else, huh Captain?"

"Yes," Byakuya said. He tracked the woman's movements until she turned and moved toward a single doorway next to where he knew Kenpachi's room was. Her reiatsu fluttered around her for a moment, but it was just enough for him to notice how different it was from anyone he'd ever encountered. A glittering gold sheen across her whole body that was barely even noticeable in the sunlight. "Come, Abarai."

Renji sighed while following his captain toward the training room, chancing one last curious glance over his shoulder before they went inside. The woman was gone, so he decided to leave it be. If anything, that was probably the first time he'd seen the Squad 11 captain actually arguing with someone instead of just slicing them up. And if he knew Captain Zaraki, the fact that she wasn't willing to quit just because it was going to be hard on her… That definitely counted for something in the captain's eyes.

"Line up along the wall!" Kenpachi shouted. "Time to get weeded out. Be happy you're going, because if I'm letting you loose, it means you're a waste of this division's space."

"B-But, sir! We want to stay!"

Renji cringed while standing off to one side with Byakuya, watching as a dark grin spread over Kenpachi's face. He remembered this  _very_ well from his own time in the 11th Division.

"If you wanna stay," Kenpachi chuckled. "Fight me and earn your place."

"Bullshit… I bet he's gonna keep  _her_  just because she's a hot piece of ass."

"Yeah. I mean, she couldn't even land a hit on Ikkaku yesterday."

"I saw her drinking last night though. Blondie knows how to party."

"What's even better is she looked like-"

Just before the redheaded lieutenant could even think of intervening, the third and fifth seats of Squad 11 came to stand behind the group of shinigamis that were whispering.

"Ikkaku, did you hear something about Lucy?" Yumichika smirked.

"Thought I did," Ikkaku hummed. "That's weird. Because I'm pretty sure it was really obvious why she gets to stay."

"Oh, did I show this to you? She nearly tore my arm off when we were sparring."

Renji's eyes cut to the side and he found a smirk of his own widening when Yumichika pulled up the sleeve of his shihakusho to show several bruises coiling around his arm, in full view of the other squad members.

"Focus, Abarai," Byakuya said as several members stepped forward to fight for their place in Kenpachi's division.

"R-Right, Captain."

* * *

" _Miss Lucy, I'm sorry, but I need more time."_

_Her smile faltered as she stared at her sullen Southern Cross spirit. "Really?" Lucy whispered. "You haven't found anything at all?"_

" _I'm afraid not. I recognized the type of magic you told me was used, but I'm having difficulties in tracing how we will return you to Earthland."_

" _Okay… I guess all I can do is wait," Lucy muttered._

_Crux floated closer to the blonde as she knelt on the wooden floor of her current room. "I haven't tried everything yet," he said gently. "I just wanted to come because it's been four days. That's what we agreed on."_

" _You just didn't want me to think you'd forgotten about me," Lucy said, her lips lifting into a small, gracious smile. "Thanks, Grandpa Crux."_

" _You should try summoning Leo. He might be able to help you with this."_

" _Have you seen him around? Virgo told me this morning that he's been hiding out with Horologium."_

_Crux sighed and shook his head. "I cannot say that I have, but I will be contacting the Spirit King if I don't find anything in the next few days."_

_Her eyes widened and she leaned closer. "Y-You can do that? Ask Stache Face for help, I mean."_

" _In a matter such as this one, yes. Fourteen gate keys have been removed from Earthland, nine of which are Zodiac keys. Our power was meant to stay in that realm, and I'm sure he'll want to help you get back home."_

" _That's great news! I'll be home in no time with him on our side!"_

" _Miss Lucy… I don't want you to lose hope, but… if we can't find a way for you to return…"_

" _No," she laughed. "I'm not going to think about the what-ifs until the time comes, Crux. I believe in you. All of you."_

Lucy opened her eyes to find early dawn light filtering in through the window across the room. She'd been in the Soul Society for a full week by that point. Seven whole days away from her guild, and she was no closer to finding out how to get home than she'd been upon arriving.

Even worse was that it was time for her to wake up. Ever since her argument with Kenpachi, the blonde had been pushing herself to prove she was worthy of being in this crazy division, even if it was only temporary. She had to play the part, no matter how short a time she would be there. Or how long, with the way things were going.

Crux knew to only appear when she tried to summon him, just as all her spirits did. Virgo was clearly having the most trouble with it all, because the Maid spirit was popping up randomly in the room that Lucy was sharing - occasionally - with Yachiru to clean and do what she could to help. As long as it was in the room, it was fine. She'd yet to show herself outside of the room since appearing in place of Loke when Yumichika was about to attack Lucy.

Speaking of Loke though, he wasn't answering any of her summons. Every time Lucy tried, Virgo would show up, saying that Loke was busy with something. When asked what was so important that he couldn't appear, Virgo was just as clueless. She did, however, know that he wasn't being his usual self and flirting with anyone or going on any dates. No one had seen the Lion spirit since Lucy had been thrown through whatever crazy portal had brought her to the Soul Society.

The blonde slowly sat up in the bed and looked over to see that Yachiru was already gone. With a shake of her head and a soft smile, she got up and started making her way to the bathroom. That little girl had more energy than Happy and Natsu combined when there was an all-you-can-eat buffet that didn't already have a restriction on the Fire Slayer's presence. It was slightly terrifying, to be honest.

Still, Lucy needed to get herself ready for the day. There was no point in showering first thing in the morning, because that's when she was training. Running, all manner of exercising, and especially working with her whip. She needed to be more proficient with it than ever before, simply because there was just no relying on her spirits while she was staying undercover here.

Capricorn had been over the moon when he was summoned to give Lucy the strictest, most rigid training schedule he possibly could. The only thing he'd said about her meditation was that Lucy should keep working at it just before bed. Apparently, working on her physical shape would also help her magical container, and he'd mentioned something about how much faster she would replenish her magic in the Soul Society because of how much ethernano was all around.

Lucy came out of the bathroom after rinsing her face off and brushing her teeth, still only wearing the thin grey yukata that Virgo had brought her. It was so strange trying to fit in here. The clothing was definitely weird. Why the hell were they only wearing a damn robe to bed? When she woke up every morning, it was mostly open and baring her goodies. And if Lucy wasn't extremely aware of the fact that Kenpachi stayed in the room right next to hers, the blonde would have simply slept in the nude. Or, okay, her underwear, since Yachiru  _did_  stay in the room sometimes.

It was just as the blonde had dropped her yukata to the floor and was in the process of reaching into the closet for a fresh uniform, already folded with her socks and sandals on top, that the door to the room opened.

"Morning, Yachiru," she said while turning to greet the girl with a small smile. "I was just-"

' _No… Oh, fuck… This is NOT happening!'_

There in the doorway, was  _not_  a three foot tall girl with pink hair and an ever-present blush, but a man with black spiked hair, standing well over six feet. Kenpachi.

The fact that he was seeing Lucy in nothing more than a matching black satin lingerie set wasn't lost on either of them. Especially not the shinigami who nonchalantly closed the door behind him while walking further inside.

"U-Um…" Lucy blinked in surprise when he stayed silent and kept his gaze locked on her face. He wasn't looking anywhere else. Not her breasts, her stomach, even her damn feet. Just right into her eyes. "I-I, uh…"

"Get dressed. We need to talk."

That was it. And the asshole didn't move a muscle afterwards. So, Lucy did the only thing she possibly could, and that was get dressed as quickly as she could. Sadly, she was still having tons of issues figuring out just how the hell this stupid uniform worked more often than not.

"Yachiru says your spirit helps you dress," Kenpachi said.

"Y-Yeah," Lucy nodded. "I'm sorry, um…" Finally, she huffed and just wrapped the white undershirt around herself like a bathrobe, giving up on her pants altogether in favor of finding out just what the hell it was that he wanted.

And, as soon as she turned to look at him again, a small shriek was choked in her throat at the fact that he was right fucking  _next_  to her. Her head tilted back further and further until she was able to look up into his eye, and the blonde visibly trembled with uncertainty as his large hands lifted and rested themselves on her shoulders.

"You're doing it wrong," Kenpachi whispered. "Your spirit does it wrong, too."

"O-Oh?" She wasn't entirely sure just what had come over the Squad 11 captain as he pulled her top open with surprisingly gentle hands.

"Put on your kosode."

"M-My what?"

He rolled his eyes and picked up the black kimono from the floor. "This."

Lucy frowned at the clothing in his hand, then looked down at herself. "But, I thought…" The blonde jolted when he grabbed her wrist and slid it through the sleeve with ease - a feat that she still had trouble mastering simply because there were slits in the armpits of the stupid thing, and she somehow always got one arm stuck. The fabric was wrapped across her shoulders, and Lucy carefully put her other arm through, then looked back up to see Kenpachi's face was still sitting in the same scowl he always wore while he fixed the sleeves of both pieces of clothing so they weren't bunched up.

"Your spirit puts it right over left," Kenpachi said while kneeling in front of the blonde. He folded the right side of her shitagi across her pinched waist, then the left over it. "Both your shitagi and kosode should be left over right."

"Wh-What's the difference?" Lucy asked. She was going to ignore the fact that, even kneeling, his face was in line with her breasts. Also, that her voice was just a little more breathless than she'd intended.

"Kimonos are folded right over left  _only_  for funerals," he smirked. "You've been walkin' around like a goddamn corpse for a week."

"Well, that's embarrassing…"

She still couldn't wrap her head around the way it felt to have his hands moving over her. How soft his touch was as he grabbed the right side of her kosode and held it closed, then wrapped the left over it. How strong those long fingers were while grabbing her hand and setting it across her stomach to hold the fabric in place.

"Then your hakama," Kenpachi said while grabbing the black, pleated fabric and holding it up for the blonde. He didn't pay any attention to the way her small hand felt - as far as he was telling himself - when she used his shoulder for balance while stepping into her them.

"They're just pants," Lucy laughed quietly. Even with the linen sitting between her legs and his hands, she could still feel the heat from them as the pants slithered higher and higher. And as soon as they were sitting at her waist, the blonde nearly collapsed in a shuddering mass of goo when he looked up into her eyes.

She's spent the past five days doing everything she could to ignore Kenpachi, simply because he'd been a royal assbag that day when he'd so thoroughly beaten her. And he hadn't seemed to care one way or another that she just wasn't speaking to him unless it was absolutely necessary.

No matter how the blonde had cut it, he'd been in the wrong. He'd shown his true colors that day, not in how he'd fought against her, but in the way he'd spoken to her. Sure, Lucy knew that she wasn't really any better than anyone else there, but that wasn't the issue. It was the fact that he'd brought her femininity into the matter, that she was a woman in general. What the hell did it matter if she was a woman? She still fought just as hard as everyone else there, from what she could tell.

"Tuck it all in," he continued, holding the hakama with one hand while using the other to push her top into them. "Then use the himo to tie them up."

Lucy watched, enraptured, as those long, slender fingers pulled the two ends of white fabric around her waist from behind her, and tied them together in a simple knot. Just when she thought he was done, that he would stand up and tower over her once again, the captain surprised her once again by grabbing the odd little white socks and straw sandals from what had once been her uniform pile.

He scrunched up one sock and lifted Lucy's foot, slowly pulling the fabric over the surprisingly small appendage while she held onto his shoulder for balance again, then up and over her ankle. Then repeated the process with her other foot.

"The tabi are easy," Kenpachi said while grabbing one sandal and setting it on the floor. "They're socks. Kinda hard to fuck that up."

"I'd say so…"

"But you look uncomfortable as hell while you're walking."

"Because these stupid shoes suck," Lucy replied. "I want to wear my boots."

"Not in your uniform. Watch." He lifted her foot again and slowly slid it into the waraji, then shifted it from one side to the other until the small strip of straw was centered on the bottom of her foot. "Bring these up, cross them over the arch." His hands worked on handling the straw laces as he spoke, moving slowly so he was sure she could see just what he was doing. "Around the ankle. Tie them off."

Flabbergasted was the only word she could think of as her weight shifted so he could put on her other sandal. Mainly because it was suddenly extremely comfortable to have the little things on her feet. They still felt weird, but at least she didn't want to cut her feet off at the ankles anymore.

And as soon as he was done, Kenpachi lifted his gaze to find her staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Lucy just couldn't help it though. The last thing she would have anticipated from the gruff captain was something like this. She couldn't even question why she hadn't been freaking the hell out over him dressing her in the first place. Or that he'd been touching her, feeling soft, brief bits of her skin that had her struggling to breathe in the first place.

Her hand didn't move from his shoulder as he stood, until it was simply gliding down over his chest and resting on one of his hips. Once he was on his feet again, Kenpachi reached between them and pulled her hand away from her waist, where it was still sitting and holding her top closed. "Now you look like a real shinigami," he said.

"Th-Thanks… Captain."

His lips twitched in the barest form of a smirk as her hand slid from his grasp. "If you're gonna be in my division, you'd better look like a damn shinigami." He didn't care how well-dressed any of his men were, as long as they were wearing the damn uniform. And even then, the only reason Kenpachi really gave a shit about it was because the Captain-Commander tended to hound him about it if they weren't doing it right. If he could avoid those boring ass lectures from the old man, he'd do it.

"So… I'm really staying here, then?"

"You are."

"But you don't want me here," she frowned. "You told me as much."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I say a lot of shit."

The fact of the matter was, he really didn't want Lucy in his division. Or anywhere near him. The woman was a distraction all to herself. She was the embodiment of everything he needed to stay the hell away from, because the last thing he needed was to start thinking about trying to get her clothes off.

He'd said the things he did that day for that reason. And because the blonde needed to learn just how his division was run. No one could see any form of favoritism from him where she was concerned, and honestly… Kenpachi just didn't see the point in taking it easy on the Celestial mage. Especially not when he'd witnessed her taking the full brunt of Ichigo's getsuga tenshou while crashing to the ground from the fucking sky.

He knew for a fact she could take a hit.

Lucy's eyes narrowed slightly as his arms crossed over his chest. He was standing so close to her, she could feel the power pouring off of him. It was oddly comforting though, because it reminded her of all the powerful mages that she had waiting for her back in the guild. Her family and friends in Fairy Tail.

"The last thing you'll get from me is an apology," he huffed. "But I'll at least tell ya that I was wrong."

"You were… wrong," she said slowly. "About what, exactly?"

"You do belong in my division," he said. "You aren't strong, not like everyone else here, but you're a fighter. That's what I want, and it's the only thing I give a shit about."

"And… everything else?" He'd said quite a lot that day, and if the only thing he was going to say was that she belonged in his division… Well, that wasn't worth a whole lot of anything. So what if she stood back up and was willing to keep fighting? That's what she'd had to do ever since joining Fairy Tail. If she didn't keep going, her friends would die.  _She_  would die.

"What about it?"

Lucy's brows drew together in aggravation. "You were talking down to me about being a woman."

"I wasn't," he said calmly. "I was telling you how you need to act. How the hell you'll survive while you're here."

"You…"

" _Fight like a man!"_

" _You wanna be a part of my squad, then you'd better man the fuck up."_

" _I don't care that you're a woman. You either fight, or you leave."_

" _Don't waste my time with tears, because that won't get you anywhere."_

When the blonde thought back on it, she could see that he was right about that. What had seemed like more male chauvinistic bullshit to her in the heat of the moment was actually advice. Albeit, not the best way to  _give_  advice, but it was advice nonetheless.

"I don't care who you are," Kenpachi said softly, "Where you come from, or anything else. Everyone in my division is the same, and the only thing that puts you higher or lower than the next guy is strength."

"Did you have to call me weak though?" Lucy asked. "That was kind of a dick thing to say."

"You are."

Her frown deepened and she realized that one hand was still holding onto his hip. Just as she started to pull it away - because she  _really_  didn't need to be touching the guy - his hand pressed over it and he stepped just a few inches closer. Just close enough that her breasts brushed across his stomach and her nipples hardened beneath the silk of her bra.

"You  _are_  weak," Kenpachi said again. His head dipped slightly so he could look more directly into her eyes. "The biggest compliment I can give is that you belong in my division. I only want the strong here, woman."

"But you want me here too, and you  _just_  said I'm weak," Lucy sneered. "You don't make any damn sense."

Kenpachi chuckled at the brilliant fire burning in her eyes, one he hadn't seen since she'd yelled at him several days before. "Anyone that's got the balls to talk to me like you do, who's willing to stand up and fight back and actually backs it up… That's not strength you come by every day. I prefer physical strength, but I'd be an idiot to ignore what you've got."

Lucy took a small step back, gulping quietly when he followed until she was flush against a wall and he was almost pinning her to it. "K-Kenpachi…?"

She could swear he was going to kiss her. Maybe. The way he was looking at her right then, it was like he wanted to devour her. And as the seconds ticked by, Lucy was finding her will to stop him diminishing.

"It's time to work," he breathed. When the hell had his face gotten so close to hers? And just when had her lips started looking so damn delicious? Her tits, definitely. He'd get lost in those creamy mounds for a century if he could. "Time to kill some hollows, princess."

"D-Don't call me that…"

His grip on her hand tightened slightly, and he had to bite back a groan at how her fingers felt while gripping his hip on her own after he'd let her go. His hand glided so effortlessly over the silken skin of her arm, up to her shoulder, pausing only when he was lightly grabbing her chin and tilting her head back.

"You've got a real problem with authority figures, dontcha?" he smirked.

Lucy shook her head, gasping as his fingers dug into her cheeks just a little more.

"Show me you've got more than a sassy little fuckin' mouth," he whispered. When he thought about it, he hadn't really seen Lucy fight. He'd seen her training with her whip, and he knew that she could use the thing properly, but he wanted to know what she could do in a life or death situation. "I'll tell you this now…"

Lucy was sure her heart stopped right along with her lungs when his wide, thin lips stretched into a sadistic grin. It was her closely guarded secret that she like her men just a little on the twisted side. Not even Gajeel knew that about her.

"If you hold back, those hollows  _will_  kill you. Kill them first, no questions. No matter what."

She remembered Yumichika telling her the same thing. And that she needed to aim for the white bone mask on a hollow's head. Once it broke, they would die and that would be that. And thankfully, her whip while 'fully released' into the glittery celestial river was strong enough to cut through a hollow's mask.

"And if you see me fighting something… Stay the hell away from it."

It was while he was looking into her wide brown eyes that Kenpachi had to physically stop himself from just closing the last bit of distance between them and tasting her. Instead, he let go of her chin and stood to his full height, watching as Lucy's weight stayed pressed against the wall as though it was the only thing keeping her standing.

Without another word, he turned and walked out the door, not giving the blonde any time to get a word in.

Then again, based on the fact that she spent several minutes standing in the same place just trying to remember how to breathe, it wasn't like there was a whole lot she  _could_  say in the first place.

And what the hell was she supposed to say, anyway? She'd never found that look on someone's face so damn attractive before.  _'This is NOT good…'_

And the fact that Kenpachi's voice had lowered even further, until he was nearly growling, as though it was more arousing by the second while he talked about killing those hollows… She didn't even know what to do with that. But, Lucy was going to see just how things in his division worked while on a job. As far as she was concerned, that's exactly what this was. Just another mission that she'd taken off the request board, only with a bigger team.

It was when the door to the room opened again to reveal a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Yachiru bounding inside that Lucy was able to figure out how to breathe.

"Loopy! Time to work!" Yachiru giggled. "We get to watch Ken-chan - Loopy?"

Lucy was sure, in that moment, her panties weren't going to be the same. They would need therapy. Loads of therapy. All because, when she even mildly thought about how close Kenpachi had been to her, how she could remember feeling his chest and abs and hip, his hands on her, it was an instant flood between her thighs.

"Did Ken-chan break you?"

Oh, how Lucy wished he'd broken her. That just sounded fabulous.  _'This is beyond 'not good'... I can't... Oh Mavis, that wasn't supposed to be sexy.'_

"I told him to apologize," Yachiru frowned. "What did he say?"

"..."

"Lucy?"

"... H-Huh?"

"What did he say to you?" Yachiru asked softly while coming to stand next to the blonde.

"O-Oh…" The blonde cleared her throat and gave the little girl a bewildered smile. "He just said that I belong in the division." The way Yachiru's young, adorable face lit up with glee had Lucy unable to keep her giggling to herself.

"Ken-chan must really like you then!" Yachiru laughed. "That's  _way_  better than an apology!"

"Is it?" Lucy asked, still smiling.

"Yeah, it means he thinks you're strong and wants to keep you!" Her deep pink eyes twinkled as she grabbed Lucy's hand and dragged the blonde outside. "Now we can get you a collar!"

"A collar?!"

"You'll be our pet! Just like Koma-Koma! You'll meet him, he's a giant dog captain. And he doesn't put a basket on his head anymore, so you might be able to pet his fur!"

"I'm not letting you put a collar on me!"

"And a leash!" Yachiru giggled. "Ken-chan can spank you with a paddle when you're bad!"

"What kind of crazy shit are people teaching you?!" Lucy screeched, still bent at the waist and fighting to keep up with the pinkette's terrifying speed. "You're not spanking me, putting a collar on me, or anything else, Yachiru!"

"Ken-chan can do it!"

"No!" Although, that did sound rather appealing...  _'No. Stop right there, brain!'_

Yumichika tittered softly, flipping his hair while coming to stand next to Ikkaku. "It seems Yachiru has taken quite the liking to Lucy." He couldn't blame her though, because he and Ikkaku felt the same way about the blonde.

Ikkaku nodded, a small frown pulling at his lips when he saw the odd flutter of glittering golden reiatsu around the blonde. "That's weird… Her reiatsu looks funny."

Yumichika raised an intrigued brow, then blinked in surprise when he looked at Lucy. That wasn't good. He knew her secret, but it was for the best if no one else found out that she wasn't really a shinigami. So, he did the only thing he could think of. "It's probably another prank of the lieutenant's," he shrugged. "You know they share a room."

"The captain isn't gagging me either, Yachiru! NO GAGS!"

"Better keep quiet then!" Yachiru laughed.

Ikkaky chuckled and shook his head as Lucy and Yachiru came to a screeching halt in front of them. Well, the lieutenant did. Lucy, on the other hand, crashed to the ground with a grunt. He bent down and lifted the blonde, setting her on her feet. "Ready, Lucy?"

"To kill some hollows?" she laughed, breathless and glad that the run was hiding the real reason for her flushed cheeks. "Anything's better than the lieutenant trying to convince me to join some weird BDSM club."

"Got a point there," he smirked. "Let's get going." As they started walking, he chanced another glance at the blonde while she talked with Yumichika, then decided to put any suspicions out of his head. It had to have been a trick of the light, or something like that. Most likely one of Yachiru's weird pranks, like Yumichika had said. That had to be it.

There was just no other explanation.

 


	5. What is a Hollow?

 

"This is weird…"

"Extremely…"

The group from Crime Sorciere consisting of Midnight and Sorano watched with matching bewildered expressions as the man they'd known for years as Cobra laughed and let himself be tackled by a group of children. The ball he'd been holding was ripped from his hands as five children held him down, the rest running toward the pair of flags set up as a goal more than twenty feet away.

"What happened to him?" Sorano whispered.

Midnight simply shrugged. "I haven't a clue. He's seemed happier though, when I've talked to him on the lacrima. He smiles now."

They waited for Cobra to finish the game he was playing with the children, standing beneath the shade of a large oak. The timing was perfect for them to visit the Konzern. Since it was July, everyone's attention was focused on Fairy Tail's performance in the Grand Magic Games. Jellal and the others were watching from the Fairies' guild hall, already knowing that Cobra had asked for Midnight and Sorano's help.

And they both knew that Gajeel wasn't going to be competing. It had been all over the news just after the Iron Slayer had stepped up to run the orphanage. Sorcerer's Weekly had run three weeks worth of articles concerning the Iron Dragon Slayer, documenting his journey from the once-feared Black Steel Gajeel to the caretaker of children. But in all of the articles, even though there had been photographs taken, Cobra had been completely absent. And for good reason.

After several minutes spent in silence, simply watching the caramel-skinned Slayer roughhousing with the kids, hugging them, laughing and smiling as though they were all his own children, Midnight and Sorano found their jaws dropping at the sight of their old friend squawking as a group of girls jumped on his arms and back, trying to trip him up and force him to the ground again.

"The great Cobra is dead," Sorano giggled.

"Who's Cobra?" came a small voice off to her left.

Sorano looked down at the little blue-haired boy with vibrant green eyes, then knelt on the ground to give him a gentle smile. Well, she hoped it came across that way. Based on the fact that he took a small step away from her and closer toward Midnight, she'd failed.

"Our friend," she said, waving her hand toward Cobra.

"Tha's Mister Erik…" The boy frowned. "He's nah' dead."

"Get on with ya, Mixen," Gajeel chuckled, nudging the boy's rear with his steel-toed boot. "Nurse said yer fine. Go an' play before you guys have to get back in for more studies."

Mixen pouted while looking up at Gajeel. "I don' wanna play outside. My ankle hurts."

Gajeel grinned and squatted in front of the boy. "Didja know what kinda magic I use? Me an' Erik?"

"Yer Dragon Slayers."

"And we can smell really well," Gajeel chuckled. "Like… when someone's lyin'...?"

Sorano bit her lips when Mixen's eyes rounded in shock. "It's true," she said, drawing the boy's attention to her. "I tried to lie to Co…  _Erik_ … once, and he smelled it before I even started saying a word."

"I guess you never lie then," he whispered.

"Nope," she laughed. "I only tell the truth now. I'm a good girl."

Gajeel ruffled the boy's hair, sending him on his way. He stood and looked at the two visiting mages, then out to where Cobra was with the other kids.  _"Company. Come on. They can play without ya."_

Cobra's gaze lifted and he grinned toward the group standing under the tree, giving Gajeel a swift nod. Moments later, he pulled free of the kids and was walking toward them. Right into Gajeel's arms. "Bunch of fucking monsters," he whispered with a tender smile, humming his approval as Gajeel's lips covered his.

"Then we're raising 'em right, I'd say," the Iron Slayer chuckled.

"This is so weird," Sorano whispered.

"... Extremely," Midnight nodded.

Gajeel snorted and gazed at the two out of the corner of his eye. "So, you came to check out whatever this shit is that's going on with me?"

"Yes," Midnight said. "Sorano's been in contact with her sister, and-"

"Let's go inside for this," Cobra said with a glance toward the kids still playing. "Little ears and all that." They stayed silent while Cobra and Gajeel led everyone inside.

' _I still can't believe Cobra's living here, of all places.'_

' _He's so happy now. I just hope everything's okay with Gajeel. The last thing Cobra needs is for… No. No, Gajeel's fine. Just some bad dreams or something. Cobra won't lose him.'_

Gajeel opened the door to what had once been Jude's study, and now acted as his own study and principal's office. Whenever the kids got in trouble and they had to come see him, it was here. Comfortable, homey, just like Lucy's own apartment had been. Hell, he'd even put her couch across from the large iron-topped desk he sat at.

Once everyone was seated, with Gajeel's fingers laced with Cobra's as the two Slayers looked at Midnight and Sorano, it was just a matter of time before someone decided to speak.

"So, you were talking to Yukino," Cobra finally said.

Sorano nodded. "I checked to see if she's ever heard of spirits doing what you told us about Loke."

Gajeel frowned slightly. "I've been seeing him in my dreams, right?"

Cobra let out a slow breath. "Yeah, Gajeel. You woke up screaming from a nightmare just last night. Talking about him, about her… You're always looking for her, and he shows up. And you're scared until you realize it's him, but you can't really hear him all that well."

"Yukino summoned Libra, since she'd never heard of anything like it. I hadn't either, but we still don't know what happened to Lucy's keys. Libra said…"

She paused and Cobra's eye widened slightly.

"Libra said that… Lucy's keys weren't destroyed," Sorano whispered. "And her spirits have all disappeared. I guess Aquarius is freaking out because she can't get in touch with Scorpio at all, but…"

"What about spirits coming in someone's dreams?" Gajeel asked. "Is that a thing they do?"

"No." She winced when he deflated.

"But these aren't nightmares," Midnight finally chimed in, drawing everyone's attention to him. "You wake up in fugue states, Gajeel. You have no memory of the dreams themselves by the time morning rolls around. But you still  _wake up_  and you can talk to Cobra about what you saw and did in the dream."

"Like he's in a trance?" Cobra whispered.

"That would be the easiest way to explain it. But we're here to help, and we'll get to the bottom of this."

"... How?" Gajeel asked with a sad shake of his head. "There ain't a damn thing you can do. Spirits don't do this dream shit, so it's just me still bein' hung up over losing Bunny…"

"Angel, tell him the rest," Cobra growled. He didn't care if she was going by her birth name now. She wasn't giving Gajeel all the information, and he just wasn't fucking standing for that.

Sorano rolled her eyes, but sat up just a little straighter when she saw Cobra's free hand clench into a tight fist. Would he really hit her over this? It was so minor.

"I will," Cobra sneered. "And you know I've  _always_  avoided hitting you on principle."

"Fine," she huffed. The white-haired mage turned to look at Gajeel again. "Libra told me something else, Gajeel. I didn't want to bring it up, because it might not even be true. It's a long shot, and she's a little on the eccentric side, even for spirits."

"What is it?" he whispered. "I'll take anything at this point…"

"We just don't want to get your hopes up that this is more than it really is," she said gently. "But Libra told me that Leo, as the leader of the Zodiac, has some abilities that not everyone knows about, except for the Spirit King. She says since Lucy's keys weren't destroyed, they're still under a contract with her unless she's dead."

"But Bunny  _is_  dead…"

"But her spirits have disappeared, Gajeel," Sorano said. "We stopped to check with Team Natsu before we came, and we asked about what they saw that day. Every detail. She was hit with some spell and-"

"I know the damn details," he growled. "I nearly beat them to death getting everything I could outta them!"

"Relax," Cobra whispered. He winced when Gajeel's grip on his hand tightened and began to quake.

"She told me that the lines between worlds is malleable," Sorano continued. "It's the basis of Lucy and Yukino's magic. Even mine. Summoning a being from another dimension means you're pulling them  _through_ to our world."

"What's yer fuckin' point?"

"My point is… What if whatever spell she'd been hit with sent her to some other world and took her keys there? Loke could be trying to break through and contact you, because you're connected to Lucy more than anyone else. He might know that you'd be more willing to believe him, so he's using any opportunity he has to try and get through whatever's blocking her spirits from coming back to Earthland where they belong. She… Lucy could still be alive, Gajeel."

Cobra frowned when everything in his lover's soul went oddly quiet. There were no gears turning in his head, no thrashing anger that sounded of metal screeching against itself. His heart started pounding, and the Poison Slayer sucked in a sharp breath when Gajeel's crimson eyes rolled back in his head and he passed the hell out.

Midnight held Sorano back as Gajeel slumped to the side over Cobra's lap. "Good job, Sorano," he muttered.

"Fuck you," she hissed. "I was trying to help."

"I was being sincere," he chuckled. "Now that he's unconscious, Cobra and I can slip into his dreams and see what's really happening."

Cobra blinked in surprise, then grinned at the Reflector mage. "You sneaky fuck…"

"I'm lost," Sorano sighed.

"If Midnight's in Gajeel's dream, he can control what's happening," Cobra laughed.

"You can't control a dream unless you're aware it  _is_  a dream," Midnight nodded. "And Gajeel's never aware of it. Because Cobra and I aren't supposed to be there, it'll be hard, but we'll manage."

"Cobra, why don't you just listen to his soul then?"

"I do," he sighed. "And I hear what the nightmare's about, but it's all flashes and screams and his fear. I can never hear Loke."

Midnight nodded. "It's appearing to Gajeel like a nightmare, and that's where I can help. I can't get in if it's a normal dream, and if Loke's trying to get through like Libra told us, then I'll see if I can't open the way for him a little more."

"You can take Cobra in with you?" Sorano whispered.

Midnight nodded while looking down at Gajeel.

"And I can try to listen in and see if there's something he can't say at the time," Cobra nodded. "You're a goddamn genius." Just as he started shifting to lift the Iron Slayer into his arms so he could carry the man, a shrill, feminine screech echoed through his head. Just one word, the voice's owner familiar and sending pain lancing through his chest.

' _Gajeel!'_

Lucy's voice. And somehow, he felt like it hadn't really come from his boyfriend's soul, but somewhere else. Where that could have been, he couldn't tell though.

"Let's get him to the bedroom," Midnight said. "Get him comfortable and all that. Cobra, you might as well just get ready for a nap too. We'll get to the bottom of this though…"

All he could hope was that Gajeel would have a nightmare and Loke would show up. No matter how long it took, Midnight wasn't going to give up until they were able to figure out just what was going on.

* * *

Screams ripped through the air, and Lucy had to force her feet to keep moving while darting between the trees. Thankfully, a good number of the lower ranking shinigami didn't have a flash step, so she wasn't all on her own. Ikkaku and Yumichika had jumped right into the fray of hollows attacking a town. Kenpachi had dashed off faster than she'd realized a person could really run, and considering he didn't actually disappear from her sight in a quick burst, she knew he was just unnaturally fast.

Surprisingly, to her at least, Yachiru had hopped off of the captain's back and settled herself on a rooftop nearby to watch. The little pinkette didn't fight at all, and no one went even remotely close to her.

Swords crashed down and men went flying in every direction. Lucy's grip on her whip tightened while she tried to figure out just what the hell she was supposed to do. This was utter anarchy, and there was no way for her to start organizing things in her head when she couldn't rely on her spirits anymore.

Rustling from behind the blonde drew her attention, and she turned quickly to find a beast with a bone white mask over it's face barreling toward her on all fours. She lashed at it with her whip, sending the strip of leather to its legs out of habit. Just to incapacitate it.

And not a thing happened. The hollow swiped at her whip with one clawed hand, still using the other three to maintain its terrifying speed. The fact that it grabbed her weapon and pulled her closer had Lucy realizing that these  _things_  weren't as brainless as she'd been led to believe.

The blonde shielded her head with one arm as its other claw came slashing down on her. Bright, searing pain raced the length of her arm, and Lucy screamed in agony. Its jaws came closer, widening to eat her alive, and still she struggled to pull her weapon free.

Lucy couldn't let it eat her though. The faces of her friends danced across her mind. Natsu and Happy, Gray, Wendy, Erza. Levy and Cana. Everyone in the guild was waiting for her to come home.

' _Gajeel!'_

She couldn't let herself die before she was able to see the Iron Slayer again, and to convince his stubborn ass to just come clean with Cobra about how he felt.

Her shoulder screeched as she lifted her injured arm to push against its jaws, just when the hollow collapsed on top of her, pushing her into the ground. Hot splashes of saliva dripped down onto her, seeping into her pores. Her vision wavered slightly, but she couldn't tell if it was just because the pain in her arm was getting worse. Or because she had to force her gates to stay closed. Each of her spirits were trying to force their way through, and it was taking more energy than she was sure they realized to keep them all back. To keep her cover intact.

' _Think, Lucy… Think, think!'_

She couldn't use her spirits, but there had to be something that she just hadn't thought of yet.

The blonde coughed and tasted blood as the hollow sent its claws tearing across her stomach. And just before she could lose consciousness, an image of Aquarius rippled across her wavering vision. Lucy wanted nothing more than to hold the broken key again, to feel her mermaid spirit's water nearly drowning her as the blunette's own form of endearment.

' _Water… That's it!'_

Lucy ground her teeth together and sent her magic soaring. It filled her from head to toe, then burst out of her in a violent golden aura, sending the hollow tumbling back into the trees and away from her.

The blonde coughed while rolling onto her side, forcing herself to sit up. She caught a flash of Kenpachi as he ran by, almost as though he couldn't see her. His wild laughter ran through the air as blood splashed over his cheeks from the three hollows his sword ran through in quick succession.

It was painfully sexy, and Lucy knew that it shouldn't be making her cheeks flushed to see the strong, muscular captain letting loose and enjoying his work. "There's something wrong with me," she sighed.

Thundering steps came closer, and Lucy's head turned to see the angered hollow running toward her again. She dove to the side when it lunged, then used a technique Cancer had taught her to send a mental pain block to her injuries. She'd suffer for it later by pushing her body past its limits, but if she survived this, Lucy would take it.

But she needed to prove herself to Squad 11. Even with fighting going on all around her, Lucy knew that everyone was keeping a small bit of their attention on her. Still, no one had come to help her. Yumichika had explained to her that their division didn't work like others. No one jumped in on another person's fight until they were dead. She was on her own.

The blonde stood on trembling legs and her face hardened, her lips tightening and her brows lowering while she forced her magic to raise even higher than before.  _'Aquarius…'_

She reached for her keys and quickly swiped the broken golden key across her chest. A bright flash of light drew the attention of several nearby shinigami, their eyes widening when they saw the blonde woman in their division wearing a striped bikini top and short blue skirt. The whip in her hand rippled, the leather shimmering into a vibrant watery length with glittering gold swirling around it. Blood steadily poured down her free arm and from two long slashes on her stomach, but her injuries were overshadowed by the new tattooed mark waving across her chest.

A smug grin split Yumichika's lips when he saw Lucy, and he cast his gaze over to Ikkaku to find his friend gaping at the blonde.

"Alright," Lucy hissed. "You wanna fight, then let's do this!"

The hollow roared and stomped its feet, charging toward the blonde. Lucy sent her whip sailing right at it, redirecting the tip to wrap around its hind legs. The hollow slipped and she pulled the whip back, then cracked it against the ground while sending out a burst of the mermaid spirit's magic. " _Aqua Metria_!"

The ground rumbled and softened beneath the screeching hollow. Several other hollows lost their footing, giving the surrounding shinigami an opportunity to slash their masks and kill them.

Lucy watched as the hollow tried in vain to claw its way through the earth in an attempt at getting to her. The ground hardened again as the spell faded and she ran forward to finally finish this fight.

She wasn't going to chance anything by getting too close. She moved forward until the hollow was within her whip's range, then cracked the celestial water across the bone mask over its face, spearing her whip into the hollow's head.

It roared in pain just as one arm broke free of the ground, but the mask broke. Just like Yumichika said it would.

This was just like killing an animal for food though, so Lucy forced down her uneasiness while watching its clawed hand disappearing into little bits of blackened ash.

The last thing the blonde had been expecting was for the hollow's mask to fall to the ground and for a very human face to be looking back at her. Wide brown eyes, pale pink lips wrenched open on a scream, the face of a woman.

Lucy froze in place, her whole body trembling as the hollow dissipated completely, its ashes fluttering away on the wind that chilled her to the bone. She'd killed a person. This wasn't a hollow like Yumichika and the others had told her, but a living, breathing soul of a woman. Someone who was Lucy's own age in appearance.

There was just no way that had really been a hollow. A monster.

Lucy took a stuttering step away from the place she'd killed the woman, then looked around her as more hollows screeched and attacked the shinigami. Blood flowed freely, splashing across the ground and trees with reckless abandon.

Yumichika's unreleased sword slashed across two hollows and killed them in an instant.

Kenpachi slaughtered whole scores of the beasts, dog-shaped hollows the size of Lucy herself. He laughed as their heads rolled across the ground.

Lucy took another step back.

Swords slashing, blood flying. Her heart pounding wildly in her chest as her star dress faded back into her torn and tattered shinigami uniform.

These people were sick murderers. Monsters in their own right.

Finally, Lucy turned on her heel and ran as far as she possibly could from the scene. Bile tickled the back of her throat while darting between the trees. But she knew this feeling well. Guilt. Shame. She'd failed herself and her guild in this.

She'd killed a person.

Lucy didn't see the gnarled root of a tree sticking up from the ground, and cried out in surprise as she slammed into the unforgiving earth hard enough to knock the air from her lungs.

She couldn't breathe though, no matter how hard she tried. Her focus on the pain block failed, and her nerves lit up in quick succession to send sheer agony ripping through her battered body.

Fairy Tail mages didn't kill people. An animal during a mission was one thing. They were usually used as food for the team, or for the client or town. But this was different. So much different. There had been raw emotion in that woman's brown eyes. Terror and fury and vengeance.

Still, Lucy couldn't breathe. Her ribs ached while she curled up on the ground. Her eyes were wide as she tried to suck in more air until blackness dotted her vision.

She was guilty of murder.  _'Can't breathe…'_

Slender fingers wrapped around her shoulders, brushed the sweat-matted hair from her face. Gently patted her cheeks. Still, all Lucy could see was that woman.

"Lucy… Lucy, you have to breathe."

Her lungs burned, like a wildfire had erupted within them and was spreading, forcing them to fill further than was natural with toxic fumes.

"Lucy, it's okay. You're fine."

But she wasn't fine. The warbled, masculine voice near her was wrong. She barely caught a flash of red and yellow feathers before her vision darkened completely and she lost consciousness.

Kenpachi paused in his walk back toward the Seireitei to look down at Yumichika as he hovered over the unconscious blonde.

"Ken-chan… is she okay?" Yachiru whispered with a furrowed brow. Her gaze locked on the long slashes over Lucy's stomach and down her arm.

"She's fine," he huffed.

Yumichika pulled Lucy into his arms, making sure her keys were safely tucked away. He coiled her whip and set it in place next to his own zanpakutou, then lifted the blonde and turned toward the captain. After casting a quick glance around to make sure no one was near enough to hear, he whispered, "Captain, she can't be taken to Squad 4 for healing. They'll read her reiatsu and know she's not really a shinigami."

Kenpachi simply blinked. Leave it to Yumichika, of all people, to figure out that Lucy wasn't like them so damn quickly. "You know then."

"I do."

"You won't tell, will you?" Yachiru whispered.

Yumichika gave the little lieutenant a gentle smile, then looked down at Lucy. "No. I trust Captain Zaraki's judgment. If he's willing to harbor her until she can find a way to return to her world, then I won't say a thing."

The small group started walking back together in silence.

"She had a panic attack, Captain," Yumichika said after several minutes.

"Too easily spooked," Kenpachi shrugged. "Good fighter though."

"You saw her?" Yachiru asked.

"Sure. Kinda hard not to with her showin' off like that." He glanced down at Lucy's dirt-smudged face before forcing himself to look at the path ahead of them.

Yumichika shook his head and shifted the blonde in his arms as Ikkaku finally caught up with them.

"Is she…"

"First real fight," Yumichika sighed. That had to be it, because he'd seen Lucy keep her composure while they were sparring, no matter what he threw at her. She hadn't even freaked out while she was fighting against that hollow. No, whatever had happened to her was a result of her fight. Something had happened, but he hadn't a clue what it was.

"She seemed fine while sparring," Ikkaku mused. "Even training."

"Yes," Yumichika sighed. "But most shinigami fresh out of the academy have never  _killed_  a hollow before."

"Huh, guess you're right." Ikkaku smirked over at his friend. "Guess we'll have to get her killing more."

"Poor Loopy," Yachiru sighed, watching the shallow, pained breaths the blonde took as she rested in Yumichika's arms.

* * *

No one had known the extent of Lucy's injuries when she was laid in Yachiru's bed. And Yumichika had done everything in his power to help heal the blonde, but he wasn't a healer. It really wasn't his specialty. The minimal kido that he knew could only do so much, and he wasn't sure it would be enough for her to actually fully heal.

The slashes across her stomach had to be stitched closed after he checked to make sure there wasn't any foreign reiatsu in the wound. The gash on her arm was mostly closed by the time he was done, but just to be sure, he put a few careful stitches in and wrapped it in bandages. She had a few burns on her from the slightly acidic spit of the hollow that had pinned her down. Some of its hallucinogen had seeped into her pores, but it wasn't anything life-threatening.

Still, she didn't wake up for nearly a week. Several times a day, Yumichika would go in to check on her. And it seemed Kenpachi had no problem with him not doing what he normally did - the paperwork and filing for the division that was  _technically_  the captain and lieutenant's job - in favor of caring for the blonde.

They couldn't call the healers in to wake her up, or even give her pain medication. The most they could do was have someone by her side with Yumichika doing what he could to give her a kido-induced pain block to keep her mildly comfortable.

By the time she woke up, Yumichika had finally called it a night and asked Yachiru to keep an eye on the blonde, to let him know if there was any change so he could come back and see what he could do.

Yachiru had, of course, fallen asleep where she'd sat in Kenpachi's lap, curled up in a ball with her head resting on his chest as he sat cross-legged on the bed next to Lucy's prone form. That left him sitting and watching over the only two females in his division. And bored out of his damn skull.

Her head turned slightly, and Kenpachi instantly honed in on the blonde as a small pained whimper escaped her barely parted lips. Moments later, hazy brown eyes slid open.

"K-Kenpachi…?"

"Yep," he whispered.

"Where…"

"Back at the barracks," he said. "You should get some rest."

"The… h-hollows were…"

"They're dead."

"No," she said, gasping while trying to turn toward him.

"Don't move, or Yumichika's gonna have to stitch you up again." When she didn't listen, he rolled his eyes and placed a staying hand on her chest, just above the swell of her breasts. "Stay still. You got pretty fucked up."

"Th-There was a… a w-woman," she whispered. "Under the mask."

"That's why you flipped," he frowned. It made sense, he guessed. It was something that never really bothered him, but there were plenty of wet behind the ears kids from the academy that had to be reminded, and coddled, after they saw what was under a hollow's mask. Some people just couldn't handle it being a person, regardless of whether shinigami were  _saving_  the souls and sending them back into the rebirth cycle.

"If it was an animal," he said, "Would you have cared?"

Lucy shook her head, then regretted it in an instant. It felt like her brain had swollen and started banging around back and forth against her skull.

"It doesn't matter either way," Kenpachi said. "Hollows are a kill or be killed kinda animal. No conscious thoughts aside from wanting to eat souls. Human, shinigami, other hollows… It's all the same to them."

"But, it was…"

"A woman," he nodded. "No one thought to tell you about this shit. It's something ya learn along the way like a lot of us did, or in the academy before they set you loose in a division."

"I-I'm a murderer…"

"No, you killed a hollow," he reasoned. "We all start out with a clean slate. Over the course of a person's life, all the good or bad that they do adds up. The really shady ones go down to Hell. The good guys, and the alright ones, come here to Soul Society. Pretty much, as long as you're not evil as hell, you come here."

"But…"

"Souls that pass from life," he said. "They have to let shit go and move on. Hollows are souls that are holding onto some pain or anger. They're blinded by it until that's the only thing they can think about. That's how someone turns into a hollow."

"So, they're really people, under those masks."

"Sure," he said. "The newer ones still have human faces inside. Even animals can become hollows. But the thing is… A shinigami killing a hollow is a blessing for them."

Lucy cringed at the small ticked corners of his mouth. He looked like he was just enjoying the thought of killing some more.

"They're caught in a never-ending cycle of pain. By killing them, we're sending them back into the rebirth cycle so they can try again. When they die the next time, they'll come to Soul Society, depending on what happens in their life. But we're givin' them another chance."

"It's still murder," she shakily whispered.

"It's not," he said. "It's our job to help them. That's just what a shinigami does. We keep the balance between the three worlds by helping souls move from the Living World, killing hollows, and protecting the ones already here in Soul Society."

Lucy just couldn't accept what he'd told her though. It wasn't the same. This wasn't her job, and she'd been led to believe that this was necessary.

"Talk to Yumichika in the morning about it if you don't believe me. He'll probably help you understand it better anyway."

Lucy bit her lip while looking up at the Squad 11 captain. His hair was still pulled into those terrifying spikes, but the little bells were missing. His eye patch was still on, even though the moon was sitting high in the sky. And there, in his lap, curled up in the cutest little ball, was Yachiru.

Maybe it was because the pain she was in was making her a little loopy, but the blonde couldn't stop the small laugh that escaped her at the sight of the domineering captain being used as a bed by a three-foot-tall girl.

Sadly, that laugh cost her a whole lot in the way of the wounds on her stomach tightening until she thought she'd pass out again.

Kenpachi frowned at the blonde, but his eye caught on the blooming crimson across the bandages on her stomach. The simple yukata that Yumichika had put on her was open from the waist up to make it easier to change her bandages. "Damn. I think you pulled a stitch."

Lucy shook her head, but that only made her breaths come a little faster. Just a little too harsh for her to deal with. "H-How long was… Fuck…"

Kenpachi sighed and carefully stood up with Yachiru in his arms. "Just wait here," he muttered before turning and walking out of the room.

As if she could do a whole lot of anything else. Really, Lucy wanted to yell it at his retreating back, but she just couldn't. It had taken more than she wanted to admit just to get the few words out. But what she'd used from Cancer's teachings to turn off the pain receptors in her nerves would take nearly two weeks to return to normal. Even for that short period of time, it was catching up with her now.

After another few minutes, Kenpachi reappeared in the doorway with a bowl of water and fresh bandages and towels in his hands.

He walked further into the room and set everything on the small table Yumichika had been keeping just next to the bed, folding down the blanket and silently untying Lucy's yukata.

"Wh-What…"

"Shut up," he whispered. "You need fresh bandages, and Yachiru needs to sleep in peace."

Lucy bit harshly at her lower lip while Kenpachi started slowly unraveling her bandages. It hurt far too much for her to deal with, that was for sure, but there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop it. Even Kenpachi's surprisingly gentle touches felt like dozens of swords were dancing beneath her flesh.

"If I could give you a pain block, I would," he whispered. "But I never learned how, and if I tried you'd most likely just get killed in the process."

"P-Pain… block?"

He nodded while pulling the last piece of bloodied gauze from around her, then dropped the pile off the side of the bed while taking a seat. Kenpachi carefully soaked a small cloth in the warm water then started lightly dabbing at the pooling blood on her stomach. "It limits the pain receptors, and helps you heal a little faster."

He paused as her hand sought his out, letting their fingers lace together as he continued cleaning her up. Her grip was strong, a whole lot stronger than he would have thought she could manage on a good day.

And Lucy, for her part, just couldn't find it in herself to give a rat's ass about the fact that her breasts were bared to the shinigami captain. Not when he stayed silent and just cleaned her up. Not when he was taking care of her when she couldn't do it for herself.

The blonde's eyes closed, and she missed the way Kenpachi's eyes widened when he also realized that she was completely bare from the hips up. He had to fight to keep his breathing normal, even as he saw the dusty pink peaks hardening. How she shivered as water dripped from the cloth onto her stomach.

' _Perkiest tits I've ever… Even laying down they're… Kami, I've been a good boy, getting to see this.'_

He forced his hand to move, to squeeze out the bloodied water and soak it with fresh water again. Gentle swipes over her puckered, healing flesh. His gaze never left her chest.

When Lucy finally opened her eyes again, Kenpachi was looking down at her stomach and setting the wet cloth in the bowl. His fingers lightly prodded her wounds, and she hissed and tightened her hold on his hand. "Bad?"

"I've seen worse," he whispered. "Yumichika will have to put some medicine on this in the morning. I don't know what he's using."

Her gaze lifted to the ceiling as he finally pulled his hand away and set about wrapping bandages around her again. She couldn't tell just how bad any of this was, whether she would have scars or anything else, but with each brush of gauze over her, the blonde felt just a little more lightheaded. "I-I don't… feel so good…"

"Don't fucking puke on me," Kenpachi growled.

"N-No… I…" She gulped and his hands froze while passing the rolled gauze from one hand to the other under her back. "I just…"

With a shake of his head, Kenpachi watched as Lucy simply lost consciousness again. Just what he needed. The woman was more trouble than she was really worth, but he couldn't just leave her partially clothed and bleeding. Especially not in Yachiru's bed.

Instead, Kenpachi went about finishing up Lucy's bandages, and trying not to spend more time than was necessary near her breasts, then checking the ones on her arm to make sure they didn't need to be changed as well. By the time he was done, and silently thanking god that he didn't need to change anything else, Kenpachi was beat.

Lucy did need someone to watch over her though, and Yachiru hadn't been sleeping well in the time that Yumichika had been leaving the blonde in her care. So, it stood to reason that he could just sit there and keep an eye on the blonde so Yachiru could get a good night's rest for a change.

With that thought in mind, the Squad 11 captain carefully pulled Lucy's yukata closed and raised the blanket to cover her again. He ignored the bandages and the small mess he'd made in helping to clean her up and sat down on the floor with his back to the bed.

It was going to be a long night, but he could probably catch some sleep since the blonde had passed out. As a final precaution, just when he felt his eyelids growing heavier, Kenpachi rested one hand over hers on the bed. That way, if she needed some help, all she had to do was squeeze it and he'd be awake. Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout-out to HaveManners on FFnet for asking if I was going to implement Lucy's Star Dress in this story. I hadn't even really considered it before, but the thought stuck while I kept writing. After reading chapter 501, and seeing Aqua Metria, I figured out just how to tie it in with the story. We'll see how many of her other forms get brought in.


	6. Thoughts of Home

 

There were two types of dreams in Kenpachi's eyes. Dreams about fighting and ones about fucking. Both were amazing in their own rights, and the nights where he dreamt about fighting  _and_  fucking were even better. But if he didn't dream about either of those, then it was just darkness until his eyes opened again.

And maybe some would say there was something wrong with him for that, but he really didn't care. It worked for him. The night he slept beside Lucy, holding her hand in case she needed help so she could wake him up, it was that third option. Dreamless sleep. According to Yachiru, he was a heavy sleeper, so why the hell did the blonde manage to wake him up with nothing more than soft whimpers?

The sun had hardly broken past the horizon when he heard it, and his eyes snapped open in an instant. When he looked at Lucy, she was still fast asleep. Still dreaming. And while he watched moisture well on her lashes and slither down her cheeks as she slept, he realized it was either a bad dream or a really fucking good one.

In his experience, women shed a tear every now and then when they had an especially wonderful orgasm. Maybe that's what it was.

But the soft sounds continued. And the longer it went on for, the more he realized that it wasn't a good dream for her.

"Ken-chan?"

He rubbed a hand over his face then turned toward the sound of Yachiru's voice from the door. "Yeah, Yachiru."

"Is Loopy okay?"

"Bad dream," he said, standing and pulling his hand from Lucy's. "I'm gonna go. Stay with her."

Yachiru's young face scrunched into a small frown as he made his way out of the room. She moved to the blonde's side, then hopped up onto the bed to get a good look at her face. She looked like she was in pain. It wasn't physical pain though, that much Yachiru could tell.

"Gajeel…"

So, instead of doing anything to try and rouse the woman who'd dropped into their lives, she simply crawled under the blanket and curled herself around Lucy's arm.

She knew what Kenpachi would be doing. The same thing he did every morning at this time. He was going out to train for a few hours, then he would be back for a long bath, then lunch. Maybe she could convince him to go patrolling one of the lower Rukon districts later on.

He seemed agitated, and she knew for a fact that hollows liked to creep around there. Maybe it would give him a good fight and brighten his mood. And if he was in a better mood, then maybe she could understand why he was keeping so much distance from Lucy when she could tell he wanted to be closer to her.

It was why he'd stayed with Lucy the night before, she knew. The blonde was fine, aside from just trying to heal. She didn't wake up in the middle of the night in pain. Which meant no one really  _needed_  to stay with her to keep an eye on her. But Kenpachi insisted that someone stayed with her. He cared, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Yachiru could tell.

* * *

Lucy smiled at Yachiru, leaning forward in the bed to wipe a few pieces of rice from the young lieutenant's cheeks. She was more than thankful that she could sit up more easily, and Yumichika had already been to the room to check her bandages. From what he said, she should be back on her feet in a day or two. And that was definitely fine with her. Lucy didn't want to be cooped up in Yachiru's room any longer than was necessary.

"Loopy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she smiled.

"Why were you crying last night?" Yachiru asked, her thin brows drawn together. Lucy froze. "Was it a bad dream? That's what Ken-chan said it was."

Lucy sighed and stared down at her empty bowl before setting it off to the side. "It wasn't really a  _bad_  dream," she finally said. "I'm just missing my friends back home. I've never been away from them this long before."

"Would you tell me about them?" Yachiru asked. She smiled again when Lucy's widened brown eyes turned toward her. "I'm kinda curious about what sort of weirdos would be friends with you."

Lucy clutched at her sides as a gentle laugh left her nearly doubling over. Leave it to Yachiru to get a laugh out of her right then, when it was most painful. "What do you want to know?"

"Well," Yachiru said, hopping off the bed to move their empty lunch dishes away before coming to sit beside Lucy again, "You've mentioned a few people before. And you said you have a team?"

Lucy grinned while going from one story to another about her team. How Natsu and Happy teased her relentlessly - much the same way Yachiru did. How Erza was fiercely loyal and protective, and that she'd cracked one of Gray's ribs just from hugging him. All about Gray's stripping habit, even when the temperatures were in the negative.

And with each story Lucy told, she found herself feeling just a little more connected to home. She'd missed everyone terribly in the time she'd been away, and even though she'd made friends in the Soul Society, it just wasn't the same.

"I was going to be moving in with Gajeel, because Natsu destroyed my apartment one too many times," Lucy laughed. "And…"

She paused, looking down at her keys for a moment, then smiled while singling out Virgo's key. Once the maid spirit appeared, Lucy found the photo album she'd been thinking about - one that she'd asked Virgo to hold onto in the spirit realm during her move - set in her hands.

"Enjoy, Princess," Virgo said with a low bow before disappearing.

"It's so weird that she does that," Yachiru giggled.

"Nah," Lucy shrugged, opening the album and smiling down at the first picture she'd ever taken with Team Natsu. "That's just Virgo. I'll bet she thinks you're kinda weird too, Yachiru. A little girl like you hanging out with big, bad Kenpachi."

Yachiru blinked, tilting her head to the side. "Ken-chan raised me," she said. "I was just a baby when we met, but he took me in anyway."

Lucy paused in turning the page to stare at the little pink-haired girl. " _Kenpachi_  raised you?" she whispered.

"Sure," Yachiru laughed, scooting closer until she'd crawled into Lucy's lap, and making sure she was careful not to put too much pressure on Lucy's stomach. "He's sweet, Loopy, even when you can't see it." She gazed down at the page, pointing to an image of a tall blond man with a lightning-shaped scar on his face, being tackled by two men and a woman. "Who are they?"

Lucy smiled down at the picture. "That's Laxus," she said, "And his team the Raijinshuu - Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow." She remembered the day this picture had been taken. Just after they'd returned from the Grand Magic Games and had gotten their old guildhall back. So, instead of dwelling on what Yachiru had said, Lucy simply told her as many stories as she wanted to hear about the mages of Fairy Tail, Lucy's family.

* * *

He stood outside of his lieutenant's room, leaning against the wooden frame and listening to Lucy's stories. She wasn't talking loud enough for him to hear everything, but when her voice raised while she acted out something that was said - there was quite a bit of  _"I'm all fired up!"_  though he wasn't sure why - he could hear it.

The sheer excitement in her voice from being able to talk about where she'd come from. How much she actually cared about the people in her own world. It really hadn't occurred to Kenpachi until that moment that Lucy was wholly different from anyone he'd ever met before. Her smile was so clear in her voice that he could nearly picture it in his head. Then again, he hadn't really seen her smile all that much in the last few weeks.

Or since she'd arrived in the first place, when he thought about it. Except for the night that Yumichika and Ikkaku had taken her out drinking, Lucy was mostly serious, stone-faced. And that worked for her to play the part of a member of his squad. The men took her seriously now, even though none had seen her since the last mission.

But they all saw what she'd done during that fight.

The power she had.

There were stories running through the division about their new member being some sort of prodigy; she wasn't a seated officer, but she still - according to their understanding - knew the name of her zanpakutou and had mastered some seriously powerful attacks with it. Of course, there were plenty of jokes about her shikai being kido-based, and he'd watched quite a few members being intimidated into silence by his third and fifth seats, before they really got started on saying that someone with a kido-based weapon didn't belong in the Eleventh.

" _\- dragons showed up. Everything was total chaos, but we all started working together to fight them. The Dragon Slayers all split up, taking a dragon each, and Natsu went after Future Rogue."_

" _Who's Future Rogue?"_

" _Well, he used something called the Eclipse Gate to come travel back in time. See this guy? The future version of him ended up being evil, and he claimed to be the Dragon King. He tried to kill me, but MY future self had come back too and she sacrificed herself to save me..."_

Kenpachi let out a slow breath while closing his eyes. Her descriptions of these fights she'd been in were so vivid, he could picture it all. He could see the blood and dirt flying through the air, hear the dragons roaring and the screams of terrified citizens.

Lucy came from a world with magic, where things like hollows didn't exist but dragons and other powerful beasts did. What he wouldn't give to go to a place like that. Kenpachi was sure he'd get a great fight out of a mage from Earthland.

But the fact that the little blonde in the room had survived things like this gave him some insight into the kind of person she was. She really was a fighter. Maybe not the strongest physically, but she was smart. Kind of like Byakuya, when he thought about it. For all the things Kenpachi just couldn't fucking stand about the sixth division captain, Byakuya  _was_  a smart fighter. And he was sure that added to the noble's strength in battle.

"Ken-chan!" Kenpachi rolled his eyes when he heard Yachiru's voice. "Ken-chan, come inside! Loopy's telling a really great story!"

He pushed away from the wall and opened the door, sending the grinning pinkette a soft glare. Kenpachi knew there was no point in trying to get away. Yachiru would only come after him. Instead, he closed the door behind him and crossed the room, then sat down on the foot of the bed.

"Come closer, Ken-chan," Yachiru giggled, holding up the photo album. "She's got pictures too!"

"I'm good," Kenpachi muttered. "What's the story I'm supposed to hear?"

"Well," Lucy said, clearing her throat. She gently pulled the album from Yachiru's hands, turning it so both shinigamis could see. "It was a little after we came back from Tenrou Island-"

"Oh!" Yachiru laughed, turning to Kenpachi. "They were on this island, and then a bunch of mages came to the island and tried to kill them. Loopy ended up being used as a doll and set on fire, then she got thrown all over the place! And then this huge dragon came down on the island and tried to eat everyone, but their guild master was a little girl and she used a spell to put them in a time bubble! And then seven years went by and the bubble popped! Loopy's a time traveller!"

Lucy, for her part, closed her eyes with a helpless smile. At least Yachiru got the most important details right. "Right," she giggled. "So, before the Infinity Clock-"

"Oh yeah! Ken-chan, did you know that this group of people came down to Loopy's guild and kidnapped her, then put her in a giant fish clock so they could sacrifice her? And she turned it against them at the end and gave them all nightmares, after the doll turned into a woman and turned back into a doll and fell into Loopy's head!"

Kenpachi blinked slowly. "... What?"

"I said-"

Lucy laughed while placing a hand over Yachiru's mouth. "Yachiru," she whispered, "I can't tell the story if you keep telling all the other stories." When all she received was a wide grin, the blonde raised a brow at Kenpachi, silently asking what the hell she was supposed to do with the girl.

With a slow smirk, Kenpachi reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of candy. "Yachiru," he said, "Eat this and listen to the story." He tossed the bag to her, fighting against a genuine smile when she pushed Lucy's hand from her mouth and dug into the konpeito candies. "You're good."

"So," Lucy laughed, "Between Tenrou and the Infinity Clock, I needed to take a job so I could pay my rent. But Natsu and everyone else on the team was busy already. So I ended up taking a job by myself."

#

_Lucy stumbled through the thick brush, cursing her short, torn skirt for not holding up to the forest leading up to her job. All she needed to do was find a chest in some cave and bring it back to the client. Simple._

_Except she'd already fought off three snakes and a pig who wanted nothing more than to snuffle her crotch. Soft, gruff voices ahead of her had the blonde crouching low and readying her keys for a fight. There wasn't supposed to be anyone here. The chest should have been abandoned out here._

_She crept along, listening as she drew closer to the voices._

" _This is boring as fuck. Why the shit did I agree to this again?"_

" _Because you need the money. It's simple. We sit here and guard this, make sure no one takes it."_

" _That rat-fuck really thinks someone's gonna come in here and take this? It's got two fucking coins in it."_

" _Gajeel, he's a coin collector. And apparently his rival is sending someone to steal this."_

" _Still fuckin' bullshit, Lily."_

_Lucy relaxed and stood, putting her keys away as she walked toward the cave. "Hey - Oh my fucking GOD! Holy shit, NO!" Lucy screamed as several iron knives when sailing through the air, right toward her face, and dropped to the ground, covering her head._

" _Who the hell's there?" came the menacing growl from the darkness of the cave._

" _It's Lucy, asshole!" she shrieked._

" _... Bunny?"_

" _Yes! You nearly took my head off!"_

" _Gihi, sorry about that…" He appeared then, reaching a hand down to help Lucy stand. "What're ya doin' out here, Bunny?"_

" _I got a mission to find some chest," she sighed._

" _Aw, hell," he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. He glanced down at the blonde. "I'm on a job to stop you… Goddamnit."_

" _U-Um…"_

" _You two could always just fight it out," Pantherlily said with a sly smirk, floating behind Gajeel and holding the chest in question._

" _What?" Lucy gasped. "No w-"_

" _Gihi, hell yeah!" Gajeel grinned. He cracked his knuckles while staring down at the wide-eyed blonde. "Bunny, if you win, take the chest. If I win, you don't get it."_

" _This isn't - ACK! GAJEEL!" Lucy scrambled to one side as his arm-turned-iron-bar came sailing down where she'd once been standing. "Damnit! NO! I don't want to - ACK!"_

#

Lucy smiled while looking down at the picture of herself and Gajeel at the guild. His arm was draped over her bare shoulders, with her famed bunny costume fully visible. Instead of being in that ridiculous white suit he wore during performances, he was the same as always - his beige cargo pants, black tunic with metal embellishments and a feathered sleeve, lifting a handful of metal to his grinning mouth.

"So, I made a deal with him," Lucy said. "He would finish his job and meet up with me in town, then I could go and take the chest for my client. We both got paid. But in return, I had to wear this stupid costume… again. For a whole day."

"So you two didn't fight it out?" Yachiru frowned while looking at the picture.

"Nah," Lucy laughed. "I couldn't beat Gajeel in a fight."

"He looks a little scrawny," Kenpachi huffed. "I could take him."

Lucy gave the captain a sly smirk. "He'd eat your sword," she said. "Gajeel's an Iron Dragon Slayer. All Dragon Slayers eat their element to help power up their magic, so he's always eating metal."

The fact that Kenpachi was suddenly grinning, looking more than ready for the challenge, was a nice change for Lucy. And she wasn't entirely sure why.

"Ken-chan, he kinda looks like you," Yachiru laughed. "Same hair and stuff."

"... No." He really wasn't paying that much attention to the guy holding Lucy in the picture, though. He was much more focused on the glittering red one-piece suit that hugged her every curve, the white bunny ears perched atop her head.  _'Kami, does she look good… This guy's not an idiot, getting her to dress up like that…'_

"You two make a cute couple though," Yachiru said.

Lucy blinked, turning to look down at Yachiru. "Ew."

"Well, he's holding you and he wants you to dress up for him," Yachiru grinned. "Ken-chan, isn't that what you do with-"

"He's like a brother," Lucy insisted. "A super gay brother." She really didn't need to know just what Kenpachi did with the women he was interested in. Or how Yachiru knew about it.

"But-"

"No, hold on… I know I've got a picture." Lucy frowned at the album, flipping through the pages in search of one picture in particular that she hadn't been able to stop herself from taking. "Here! This is Cobra," she said, turning the album toward Yachiru and Kenpachi. "Gajeel's  _madly_  in love with him."

The two shinigamis stared, slightly wide-eyed, at the image of a maroon-haired man with only one eye and pointed ears in the process of punching Natsu in the stomach. The sheer glee on his face was more than familiar to them, but it was the poison dripping from his mouth that had them both surprised.

"Natsu challenged Cobra to a fight, and when he wouldn't back off, this happened," Lucy said with a fond smile.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about," Kenpachi chuckled.

"Loopy," Yachiru frowned, "I thought you said Cobra was one of the people who tried to kill you."

"Yeah, twice," she laughed. "We're friends now." She turned to another page, one littered with at least a dozen pictures. "Flare, Minerva, the Oracion Seis-" She pointed to each person in the pictures, all in various stages of fighting in the middle of her guild, and all of them smiling. "-the Element Four, the Raijinshuu…" Her gaze returned to Yachiru then. "They've all been enemies of mine before, but I'm friends with them now. Gajeel tried to kill me when we first met, and now he's my brother."

"How did he try to kill you?" Kenpachi asked. He smirked when her head turned toward him and he saw the surprise at his question sitting so plainly on her face.

"Well, he strapped me to a wall and used me as target practice for throwing knives," Lucy answered. Then she frowned. "But that was after Gajeel threw me around the room and beat my ass black and blue."

"And you didn't use your magic?" Yachiru asked.

"Juvia had already taken my keys," she sighed. "I didn't have anything to defend myself with."

"Well, this has been fun," Kenpachi said, "But-"

"Wait, who's that?" Yachiru popped another candy in her mouth and turned the page again when she caught a glimpse of someone Lucy hadn't mentioned before. A ginger-haired man with sunglasses, wearing a crisp suit and standing behind Lucy with his arms wound around her.

"That's Loke. He's one of my spirits. I haven't been able to get in touch with him though."

"How did you guys meet?"

Lucy smiled at the innocent stare she received from the little pinkette. "He was a member of Fairy Tail," she said softly, thinking back to the day she'd joined the guild. How Loke had avoided her at all costs until she'd finally followed him out to Karen's grave and found him on the verge of dying.

"I wasn't going to let him die though," she said. "So, I used every bit of magic I had and tried to force his gate to open. I kept calling the incantation out, even though it was starting to drain my life. I didn't care about that."

"How come?"

"Because Loke told me his story," Lucy said. "Karen, his old keyholder, abused her spirits. She hurt them and didn't respect them, so he taught her a lesson. She ended up dying, because she tried to do something that she didn't have the magic to do. But he was being punished for it as though he'd killed her."

She remembered it all like it was just yesterday. Everything freezing in place and the Celestial Spirit King appearing. How domineering he'd been. But Lucy had refused to let that stop her. Because Loke was more than nakama to her in that moment, he was a spirit who'd been abused and no one had been on his side.

"I guess talking back to the king made him realize that not  _all_  Celestial mages are horrible," she laughed. "He changed the ruling on Leo being killed, and gave me his key. Loke's been loyal to me ever since."

"You… You fought a  _king_?" Yachiru whispered. "You're kinda like Ichigo!"

"No!" Lucy laughed. "I argued with a king. He's really nice though. He invited me to the Celestial Realm to spend the day with him and my spirits."

"You're  _friends_  with a king?!"

"I-I don't know," Lucy chuckled. "Stache-face and I aren't really friends, I don't think."

Kenpachi found himself staring at the blonde. The fact that she'd just admitted to staring down what he could only call a god was… weird. The king of her spirits. And she'd changed the guy's mind and nearly killed herself all for one measly spirit who they'd yet to see. Lucy sure didn't look all that strong, but he'd seen for himself what she hid beneath the surface.

And in every story that Yachiru asked her to tell after Loke's, stories about how she'd met each of her spirits, Kenpachi found more reasons to be intrigued by the blonde who was still holding Yachiru in her arms.

* * *

"Oi, Lucy!" Ikkaku called out through the closed door of Yachiru's bedroom. "Are you ever coming out?"

She rolled her eyes and finished pinning her hair back into a low bun with her chopsticks. She checked her appearance one last time in the mirror, making sure her shihakusho was properly placed, then dashed toward the door and tossed it open with a wide grin. Yumichika and Ikkaku stood on the walkway, one smiling and the other grinning wickedly once she was in front of them.

"Well well," Ikkaku chuckled. "She lives."

"Oh, shut up," Lucy giggled. "Yumichika's a great healer." She fell into step between the two as they started toward the training room for the day. Hopefully Lucy wouldn't have to spar that day. She'd only just been fully healed, and she really didn't feel like pushing herself too hard so soon.

Then again, Lucy had a feeling that she'd had more than enough of a break by Eleventh Squad standards.

"Captain Kyouraku is having a party tonight," Yumichika said.

"He hasn't had one in a while," Ikkaku chuckled. "Sounds like fun."

"What do you say, Lucy?" Yumichika asked. She frowned in confusion while looking up at him. "Can we convince you to come out with us tonight?"

"Captain Kyouraku throws the best parties," Ikkaku grinned. "He's got the best sake collection, and you get to drink all night and eat."

"I sometimes forget that he's actually a noble. He doesn't act like it."

"True, but that's probably because he wasn't supposed to actually be the clan leader."

"Regardless, we'd love for you to join us, Lucy. You've been recuperating, and now we want to celebrate you being back in the field."

The three paused once they were standing in front of the training room, listening to the sounds of small skirmishes inside. Lucy closed her eyes for a moment, smiling at the familiarity of it. This sounded just like home, just like the guild before she opened the doors. There wasn't as much laughter, but they were still fighting. Finally, she looked up to Ikkaku, then to Yumichika. "That sounds great," she said. "I think it'd be good to get out for a bit."

They went inside after that, and Lucy instantly scanned the room. Her smile faltered slightly when she didn't see Kenpachi or Yachiru anywhere.

"Looks like we're running the show today," Ikkaku laughed, stepping away from the blonde's side. "Guess the captain's out."

"I think he and the lieutenant had meetings to go to today," Yumichika said, leading Lucy over to the wall and taking a seat beside her on a bench. Once Ikkaku was distracted, he turned toward the blonde, watching as she followed everyone's movements with her eyes alone. "Lucy."

"Hm?"

"How are you doing?" he whispered. "After the hollows…"

A sad smile flashed across her face for only a moment. "I think I'll be okay," she whispered back. "Kenpachi talked to me about it, and… I don't really get it, but… That's just how things work here, right?"

"We're helping them," he nodded, turning his attention back to the room. Yachiru had been the one to tell him that Lucy had freaked out over what she saw beneath the hollow's mask, that it had been a woman's face. And he understood that trepidation to a point. Lucy wasn't from here, and she viewed it as murder. But maybe, later on before they went to the party, he could help her understand it a little better. Killing hollows was a saving grace for them. They were helping those lost souls have another chance at life. "If you want to talk, though, you know where to find me."

Lucy's smile widened and she knocked her shoulder against his. "Thanks, Yun-Yun. You and Yachiru really make me feel a little closer to home, y'know that?"

"How so?" he chuckled.

"Well, Yachiru is kind of like my best friend Natsu and his cat Happy, all rolled into one."

"And me?"

She wanted so badly to say he was like Master Bob, but no matter how fabulous Yumichika seemed, he was far too pretty for the comparison to ring true. "Rufus," she finally said with a smile. "He's got the same… flare… as you do." Namely, that damn hat of his with the ridiculous feather. But, Lucy had never seen him with a single hair out of place.

"I highly doubt that," Yumichika smirked. "No one can be this glorious."

When he struck a pose, flicking his hair in the process, Lucy just shook her head. "Sure, Yumichika," she giggled. "Whatever you say."

* * *

Loke laid on the floor of his home in the Celestial Realm, panting and holding a hand to his head to try and stop the throbbing, searing pain shooting between his ears. His stomach rolled, pitching in a tight circle that he knew wasn't going to end well. A familiar hand pushed his hair back from his eyes, and he slowly looked up to see Aries gazing down at him, her full lips pulled into a concerned frown.

"Leo, what's the matter?"

"N-Nothing," he rasped. "Just… Pushing myself again."

Her fingers carded through his hair, brushing through the damp ginger strands while he curled around her legs. A tender smile lifted her lips when she felt the small, quivering kiss pressing against her thigh, just beneath the hem of her woolen dress.

"Swear to me you won't tell the others," he whispered. "Aries, they can't know."

She bit her lip and turned her attention toward Horologium lying on the golden embroidered couch a few feet away. Even the clock spirit looked under the weather. "What can't they know?" she asked.

"I've been trying to get in touch with Gajeel."

Her gaze shot back toward the Zodiac Leader, eyes wide and hopeful. "Y-You have?"

He nodded, moaning in discomfort until her hand moved down to massage away the tension in his shoulders. "H-He's close to her," he said. "I can reach him, if… if I try hard enough."

"Because he's under your sign," she nodded. If any of the other spirits had enough of their own power, like Leo did, they could each try to contact someone in Earthland to let them know that Lucy was still alive. That they needed help.

They hadn't realized it until Crux had tried to contact the King, that they were totally cut off from everyone else while Lucy was in this new realm. The stone walkway leading between their homes was cracked from the violent shift in dimensions. They were stuck in some strange limbo until her keys returned to their rightful plane.

Surely the Spirit King knew something was wrong, but there was no way for them to ask him for advice. It was a miracle that Crux had been able to search for anything in the first place. Except, what Lucy didn't know was that he only had access to the books that were in their homes. Not the enormous library that was just down the hall from the King's meeting chamber in the palace.

Scorpio was quiet now, though, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get to Aquarius and see her again until they were back in Earthland. But they'd all agreed that Lucy couldn't know the gravity of the situation. She needed to keep herself calm, to simply enjoy the time that she had in this new place and keep herself out of trouble.

Virgo didn't exactly agree, saying that Lucy should be aware of what was happening. If anything, maybe they could simply try to take her to the Celestial Realm, there with them, and  _maybe_  that would balance things out again.

Except it hadn't worked.

Virgo had gone behind their backs and tried to do just that while Lucy was sleeping, when she'd been injured and recovering, and she hadn't been able to lift the blonde with the intent of taking her back to the Celestial Realm. She'd pushed through and lifted Lucy, only to be unable to close her own gate with the blonde in her arms. Maybe it would work, but there was no way to get Lucy out of the Seireitei that they'd discovered so far.

Aries let out a heavy sigh while looking at the clock spirit again. "How are you doing, Horologium?" she whispered.

"I will be fine," he said, though it was clearly more of an effort for him to speak. "I am just worried about Lucy, and what that spell might have done to her."

"What do you mean?" Aries frowned. "She seems fine now."

Horologium looked down to Leo, the hands of his clockface cast downward in a grimace. "They should know," he said. "At least Aries… She knows everything else."

Leo sighed, forcing himself to sit up and carefully take the Ram spirit's hands in his. "Promise me…"

"I promise," she said instantly. "I think Capricorn and Crux should know, at the very least. It would help them search."

"Not yet," he said. "I have to get in touch with Gajeel first. He  _has_  to know we're trying to get her back there."

She nodded, frowning as Leo turned and helped Horologium sit up on the couch. She hadn't realized before that there was a thick fur blanket covering the clock's body, but once he was facing her, Aries understood it.

She gasped in horror at the sight of his battered wooden body. Blackened splotches of burnt wood dotted his frame. Horologium stood on quaking legs with Leo helping to keep him balanced, and Aries found tears welling in her eyes when she saw the pale, ominous smoke swirling behind Horologium's glass. "Wh-What is that?"

"The spell that would have hit Lucy," Leo said. "Horologium tried to protect her, but when he pulled her into his body… Some got in."

Her large purple eyes widened even further when Horologium shifted his weight and the smoke cleared just a little, showcasing the battered, unconscious body of their keyholder, still wearing the clothes she'd been in the day everything had changed.

"That's why I have to get to Gajeel. He needs to find the mage who did this and get us some answers on how to undo it."

"Wh-What happened to her?"

"Whatever that spell was," Leo frowned, pulling Aries into his arms as her tears spilled over, "It ripped her soul out."


	7. Cinnamon Roll

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it took some time to figure out just what I wanted to do with this chapter. There was a lot of going back to watch old Bleach episodes (in between the Naruto and Shokugeki no Soma marathoning I've been doing) and just staring at a blank wall in thought. Shit got weird.
> 
> Also, I just read the Fairy Tail: Rhodonite spin-off, so there is (of course!) a nod to that in this chapter.

 

It hadn't taken much for Lucy to realize that things were different in the Seireitei. It was more than how they dressed, though. And if she'd somehow managed to ignore all the signs that she wasn't in Earthland any longer, then the simple beauty of Captain Kyouraku's garden party definitely would have clued her in. Soft orange and purple and pink paper lanterns hung on eaves and trees all around the garden. It was sophisticated in a way she'd never thought possible, and still felt welcoming.

The captain, himself, she'd yet to see. Well, maybe she'd seen him and just hadn't been introduced, because Yumichika and Ikkaku had dragged her over to a table full of food and kept forcing her to try one thing after another.

There were all kinds of shinigami at the party though. It wasn't just stuffy old people like she'd been dreading on the way over. From what she could tell, though, it was a lot of the higher ranking members of squads that made an appearance. She saw that redhaired man with the tribal tattoos again, except he wasn't shadowing his captain this time. Instead, he was standing beside a woman with short black hair and gleaming violet eyes who was shorter than even Lucy herself.

"That's Rukia and Renji," Yumichika said.

"I met him before," she said after swallowing the steamed bun Ikkaku had shoved in her mouth. "When Kenpachi beat my ass black and blue."

"Damn, that feels like ages ago," Ikkaku laughed.

"Yes, it does feel as though Lucy has always been with us."

"Even though I've been unconscious most of that time," she snickered.

"Ikkaku!" Renji called out, pulling Rukia over to join the small group. "Good to see you guys here."

"Like hell would we miss one of Captain Kyouraku's parties," Ikkaku said.

Yumichika turned his attention to Rukia and smiled politely. "And is Captain Ukitake here as well?"

"He's here," she said with a nod. Her gaze shifted to the side for a moment and a small smile touched her lips when she saw him sitting between Captain Unohana and Captain Kyouraku. "It seems he's taking it easy though."

Lucy bit her lip nervously and lowered her gaze to the lush grass beneath her feet. She listened to the conversations around her, but didn't say a word. It was so strange to be there, that was for sure. If this had been a party with Fairy Tail, there would have already been a fight. Or seven. There would have been food flying, and screaming and drinking and betting. Most importantly, there would have been magic flying left and right, and she would have been hiding behind Natsu or Gajeel until those two ultimately got into a brawl and dragged her into it by proxy.

She missed that so much.

Lucy looked around the party again. Renji's captain was sitting beside several others wearing haoris, but she couldn't see the numbers - one with long brown hair and a flowered kimono over his haori, one with white hair and bags under his eyes, a woman with a long braid running down her chest. The way they acted reminded her a little of how her father's parties had been, but it was still so different. There were no fancy gowns or butlers walking around that she could see.

A gentle hand on her lower back drew Lucy's attention back to the shinigami around her, and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment when she realized they were all looking at her. And then Rukia smiled at her and Yumichika's hand left her back.

"I felt the same way when I first came to one of Captain Kyouraku's parties," Rukia said. "It's definitely different."

"But it's too boring right now," Ikkaku murmured. "Might as well be with the Kuchikis."

Lucy frowned in confusion while Rukia scowled. "They aren't that bad!" Rukia said.

"True," Yumichika said with a smirk. "We Rukon mongrels wouldn't be allowed past the gate in the first place."

"Now that's just not right," Renji said.

"Thank you," Rukia sighed.

"Rukia lives there." Rukia scowled again and punched Renji in the side, pulling a laugh from Lucy, and he looked back to the blonde. "How are you liking the squad though?"

She scratched the back of her head and let out a nervous laugh. "Well, I guess it's alright," she said. "I just got off bedrest today and Yumichika and Ikkaku figured I needed to get out for a bit."

"You're part of Captain Zaraki's division?" Rukia asked, her eyes widening.

"Yeah, but I mostly just shadow the lieutenant." She had to remember the things Yumichika had taught her in her first few days with them. She had to be specific, but not too specific. She had to lie and be convincing.

"I've never seen you at the Shinigami Women's Association meetings," Rukia said.

"She's usually with me when the lieutenant goes to those," Yumichika said. "The captain refuses to do his paperwork, and since Lucy here enjoys it and has a brain, I let her help me with it."

"I'm more of a behind-the-scenes kind of person," Lucy said.

"Unless you're flying through a door," Renji chuckled. Rukia's elbow lodged itself in his ribs and he nearly doubled over. "Seriously though," he coughed, "I'm surprised you stuck around."

"It's the best place to get stronger," Lucy said. She didn't seen Ikkaku and Yumichika's proud grins over her head as her eyes burned with conviction. "It might be hard, and it might hurt like hell, but I'm learning more with them than I could have learned anywhere else."

"Lucy here is the only one who doesn't get hassled for her zanpakutou being kido-based," Ikkaku said. "She's horrible with a regular sword though."

"Yes, it's pretty pathetic," Yumchika nodded.

"I'm not that bad!"

"You are, though," he laughed.

Lucy's shoulders slumped in defeat and she nodded in agreement. There really wasn't any point in fighting that. She fucking sucked using a sword. If only she'd gotten more practice with Gajeel before this had happened. Maybe one of her spirits could teach her though. Capricorn, maybe.

The conversation drifted into other topics that Lucy really didn't know much about, so she just listened. She learned more about the shinigami that came and went, and found it was easier for her to remember them if she compared them to people she knew. Like Rangiku, the busty woman who was Soul Society's version of Cana. In short, she was a lush with a heart of gold. Or her captain, a white haired shinigami who looked as though he couldn't be any older than Romeo, with a serious streak almost identical to Erza; Lucy wondered if he had some weird cake addiction too.

Shuuhei reminded her of Gray, mostly because their hair was sort of the same, and he tended to have the same sort of reaction when someone said he couldn't do something; she still wasn't sure why it was so important that he have something called a bankai, or why no one believed him. There was Hanatarou, who'd barely brushed against her while walking past and bumbled through an apology with so little confidence that all Lucy could picture was how Wendy had been when they'd first met and she'd been part of Cait Shelter.

At some point, music started playing. It was like nothing she'd ever heard before, and Lucy wished she knew how to describe the pounding beat and warbled tones and whirs from speakers she hadn't seen. She almost felt like an idiot when Yumichika pulled her away from Ikkaku and Renji - who were in the process of starting an arm wrestling match and drinking sake - and tried to dance with her.

"What is this?" Lucy laughed, trying to follow his steps.

"Music from the living world," Yumichika said. "Shuuhei keeps tabs on new music trends and brings copies of some things back."

It still baffled her that she was surrounded by dead people. Or souls, rather. They never seemed as though they were dead, or missing out on life. The only time she really remembered that little fact was when someone brought up the world that had living, breathing humans in it.

Still, she'd never heard music quite like this. And she was completely lost. If it was a waltz, she could go to town and show off some skills. She didn't recognize any of the instruments that were being played, and the tempo was too fast for her to keep up with. She tried to mimic Yumichika, even some of the other shinigami around them who were starting to get into the music, but none of it helped.

Maybe she should have tried to learn how to dance like other people back in the guild. But Lucy had always been a bit too reserved about that. Way too nervous to just let loose in front of anyone. She could waltz to her heart's content, but shaking her ass like Cana had done? Definitely not.

"What are you doing?" Yumichika laughed, bracing his hands on her hips.

"I really don't know," she said, giving him an uneasy smile. "We don't have music like this back home."

He took a small step closer and smiled down at her, his hands drifting to the small of her back. "Then I think we need to do something about that."

"Like what?" She wasn't even going to question Yumichika's intentions. Regardless of whether he was attracted to her - she still wasn't sure if he was gay or not - she wasn't attracted to him at all. He was pretty, but too young. Physically. Maybe mentally. She still didn't know.

His lips drew closer and drifted toward her ear. "We need to get you drunk."

"What?" Lucy giggled.

"You danced with me the last time we went drinking," he said. "You were fine then."

"Because I was trashed." Lucy winced while thinking back. She'd had so much to drink that she'd puked on Kenpachi. Twice, apparently. She really didn't feel like repeating that experience.

"Oh, Yumichika!" Rangiku crooned. "Are you trying to defile your squad's delicate flower right here?"

"No." Yumichika drew back and winked at Lucy, then wrapped one arm around her waist and led her over to Rangiku. "But I need your help. Lucy here is far too sober."

"Do you have any idea how rapey that sounds?" Lucy laughed. She trusted Yumichika though. And she trusted that, if something were to happen to her, Kenpachi might be persuaded to do something about it. Maybe. Most likely with Yachiru's constant badgering.

"But Lucy, I want to dance with you," Yumichika said. "And you apparently can't do that sober."

She squeaked when foreign hands pushed him away and she was dragged forward by Rangiku. "You just leave that to me, Yumichika!" Rangiku shouted. "It's time for a good bottle or two of sake!"

"Did I hear sake?" Lucy looked over to see the captain wearing a pink kimono over his shoulders sauntering closer.

"You sure did, Captain Kyouraku," Rangiku said with a grin. "We're going to get little Lucy here nice and drunk so she can dance."

Lucy stiffened when he came to stand in front of her, and pulled away from Rangiku enough that she could bow like Yumichika had taught her to do. When he laughed and patted her head, she looked up to find him sending her an easy, gentle smile.

"She's definitely too sober," he said. "Well, right this way. The good stuff is over here."

Lucy looked back at Yumichika to find him waving at her with a mischievous little smirk. Then he turned and walked toward where Ikkaku and Renji had set up a small ring to spar with one another. There wasn't any betting that she could see, but it at least made her feel a little closer to home.

All that was missing was the magic. And her family.

* * *

Cobra sat on the bed with his knees pulled to his bare chest and a hand in his hair. His free hand drifted in the same pattern as it had been for the past hour: a simple figure eight over Gajeel's broad shoulders. He'd been sleeping for a while, and even though Cobra wanted to be curled around him right then, he couldn't.

A soft knock on the door drew his attention to it in an instant, and he kept his breathing controlled when Sorano and Macbeth made their way into the bedroom. It was already after eleven at night, which meant Macbeth's magic would be at its most powerful very soon.

"Are you ready, Cobra?" Sorano asked softly.

"It's Erik now," Macbeth chuckled. It was tense though, and Cobra knew that he was just trying to lighten the mood a little. After trying for nearly a month, they hadn't had any luck in getting into Gajeel's dreams to talk with Loke. But none of them were giving up any time soon.

Macbeth had been able to witness Gajeel's fugue states every time they failed to get in - how he seemed perfectly coherent and sometimes was willing to talk about what he'd seen or heard. None of it helped. Aside from letting Macbeth and Sorano see Gajeel cry in the middle of the night before trying to get inside Cobra (only a couple times, thankfully, and Cobra had been able to stop him because they had company), it really didn't give anyone any idea of what Loke was trying to do.

"Come on," Cobra said. His gently grasped Gajeel's limp hand on the bedding while Macbeth took a seat beside him. Sorano was silent while she sat down on a little lounge they'd set up for her. "Let's get this over with, alright?"

"We're going to figure this out," Macbeth said softly. He cupped Cobra and Gajeel's joined hands with both of his and looked into the Poison Slayer's single, worried eye. "No matter how long it takes, we'll help him."

"We promise," Sorano said.

"Any word yet?" Cobra asked her.

"Not yet," she said. "Yukino has been talking with Libra and I guess she's trying to set up a meeting of some sort with the Spirit King. From what Yukino told me, he's wary of meeting her."

"He's met with Lucy a few times," Macbeth frowned. "Why would Yukino be any different?"

"Because Lucy proved herself to him," Cobra said. "Gajeel told me about it. She's got his trust, but he's gotta understand that your sister's trying to meet with him to  _help_  Lucy."

"I know," she said. "I'll call her when you guys are under and see if there's any news yet."

Cobra nodded and looked at Macbeth. His free hand dropped to cover Macbeth's where it sat over his and Gajeel's hands. "Swear to me," he whispered. "Macbeth, swear to me he'll be alright."

' _I wish I could… I don't know what this is, but I won't give up.'_

"I won't let it be any other way," Macbeth said. "I swear, Erik, I'll do everything I can."

" _Gotta find Bunny… Gotta find her. Bunny, I'm comin'. Where are you?"_

That wasn't nearly good enough, as far as Cobra was concerned. But he had to accept it. He knew Macbeth would do just as he said. He never would have asked for help if he didn't. "It's starting," he whispered. Cobra leaned his head back against the headboard while his eye slid shut. He heard Macbeth's soul swirling as he gathered his magic, and the soft chime of the grandfather clock in the manor's foyer as midnight fell upon them. This was it. They were going to give it their all this time, and maybe they would break through into Gajeel's dreams.

There was a soft pull in Cobra's stomach that grew into a nauseating ache. His eye stayed shut though. No matter how much he wanted to look around, to find out if they were still in the master bedroom with Sorano sitting close by and Gajeel still asleep, he refused. If he did that, the spell would fail. He'd learned that the hard way.

Macbeth squeezed his hand twice before Cobra finally took a chance and opened his eye. They were still in the master bedroom, still sitting in the same place they'd been before. Everything was identical on first glance, even the moonlight streaming in from the open window on the far side of the room. "Damnit."

"Erik…"

Cobra pulled his hands away from Macbeth's and rubbed them over his face. "Can you try again tonight?" He just couldn't believe it hadn't worked. Again. And he wished more than anything that they had even one fucking clue of how to make it actually work. How they could help Gajeel.

"Erik, look…"

Cobra scowled and dropped his hands, then followed Macbeth's gaze to the bed.

Gajeel was gone. Instead, Cobra saw his own body lying there, fast asleep with the blankets cocooned around him and a small line of drool dripping down his cheek. He looked back to the window to find the lounge that Sorano had been sitting on was gone as well. She was nowhere to be found. Just himself and Macbeth. And his other self. That was fucking weird.

They stood and took a slow step away from the bed, and Cobra jumped when it started pinching in on itself, folding over and over again with his dream-self going right along with it. The room darkened steadily with each passing second, and his gut twisted when the bed winked out of existence, quickly followed by the rest of the furniture until the room was empty. The walls faded to a stale grey and the gentle cinnamon scent that always hung in the air faded until all that was left was a musty, mildewed sort of stench.

"We need to find him," Macbeth said. "This isn't looking good."

Cobra really didn't need any more prompting than that to get his ass in gear. They made their way to the door, and when he pushed it open the wood simply crumbled to bits of ash against his fingertips.

The hallway beyond wasn't normal. It wasn't the hall that Cobra and Gajeel walked down every morning. The soft blue walls and shining wood floors were gone, replaced by peeling yellowed red-paisley wallpaper and cracked and stained linoleum. He stepped into the hall with Macbeth and found his gaze pulled toward the flickering overhead light that ran along the ceiling. There was hardly enough room for them to walk beside each other.

"Where is he?" Macbeth whispered.

Cobra didn't care if he looked like a pussy. He reached back and grabbed Macbeth's hand before closing his eye to try focusing on Gajeel. No way in hell was he going to get sucked into some fucked up horror nightmare and get separated from the only one who could get him out. Also, Cobra was just a little fucking creeped out by the shit happening in his boyfriend's dream. And all they'd done was walked into a damn hallway.

Luckily, Macbeth squeezed his hand just as tightly - partly to keep them together, and mostly for comfort. Cobra listened and listened, but he didn't hear a thing. Well, he didn't hear a single direction to start searching. Gajeel's soul was everywhere. And nowhere. And how in the fuck was this supposed to work?!

"What do you hear?"

"Nothing," Cobra sneered. "Everything…" He glared at his friend and started dragging him down the hall, ignoring the hollow thunk of their feet on improperly installed tiles. "We have to find him."

"Erik, I know we do," Macbeth said. "Just stay calm. Remember, it's a dream. Things won't make sense to us here, but they'll make sense to Gajeel."

"How the shit does a murder hallway make any fucking sense?!"

"Murder hallway?" Cobra sighed while they rounded a corner, then stopped and gestured just ahead of them. To the sudden splashes of crimson that swept up the walls, the pile of body parts in the middle a large puddle of blood. "Cobra, what the hell did you-"

"This looks like it's a fucking horror movie," Cobra said, looking at the viscera hanging from the ceiling with a critical eye. "Why wouldn't there be some fucking murder hallway?"

"You did this," Macbeth whispered. His eyes rounded while he took in the macabre scene, then looked back at his friend. "Erik, you… You  _made_  this."

"I didn't do a thing."

"You did…" Macbeth turned to the wall and reached out for nothing. His hand wrapped around a doorknob, and he turned it and pushed open a door that hadn't been there before, dragging Cobra through it. They stopped in the next room, a dining room covered in creeping vines with inch-long thorns over the sunlit windows. "Lucid dreaming," he whispered. "Erik, this is good."

"What are you talking about?"

"We can affect things here, almost as if it's our own dream." Macbeth tightened his grip on Cobra's hand and carefully led them through the gnarled brambles to the opposite side of the room. "It doesn't have to make sense. Not at all. But Gajeel's dream is merged with our consciousnesses, so we can move around as though we're having a lucid dream. We can help him."

"We can't even find him."

"We have to try," Macbeth said. "This is a step in the right direction. Even if we don't get to him this time, we'll have something to work from." He paused once they were beside a window, then lifted their joined hands and pushed them through the thorns. Nothing pierced their flesh. They simple fazed through it all, like ghosts. "Where do you think he'd be right now?"

"I don't know," Cobra hissed.

"Just picture it," Macbeth said. "You told me before that he's usually in the house during a nightmare, so where would he go?"

Cobra frowned and looked toward the window they were about to go through. The dining room overlooked the playground they'd built for the kids. He could see them playing outside right then, smiling in the sunlight and enjoying the bright spring afternoon. "The library," he whispered. "Lucy loved it, and he… Gajeel knows that." Macbeth nodded and they stepped through the window, then dropped down several feet into the dark library. There was no hint of the afternoon light that had been drifting through the vines over the windows in that dining room.

In the middle of the room, Gajeel knelt on a grave covered in roses and lush grass. His large frame curled around a marble headstone and he sobbed with no hint of wanting to stop.

" _Gaje… me… can y… Gaj… me!"_

Gajeel's head shot up and he looked around the room for the disembodied voice. "Leave us alone!" he bellowed. "She's gone, you asshole! Just leave us alone!"

Cobra watched, frozen in place and more than confused, as the headstone reshaped itself into a small kitten with bright orange fur. It purred while rubbing itself against Gajeel's legs, then crawled up onto his shoulders. Its mouth opened in a yawn, but that same fading voice from before came from the kitten.

"Gajeel… trying to… can you…"

Gajeel screamed and threw the kitten across the room, and Macbeth dove forward to catch it before it could hit the ground. Just as he felt soft fur brushing against his hands, it burst into a puff of bright orange and green feathers.

Cobra ignored Macbeth and made his way to Gajeel, then gently knelt beside him. "Hey," he whispered. "Gajeel, it's alright."

The Iron Slayer shook off the gentle touch to his shoulder and crawled across the floor to a dark, looming bookshelf. He pulled a book down and opened it, revealing scrawling lines of text that wriggled on the pages.

"Gajeel," Cobra said, following closely behind him. "I'm here now. It's alright."

"I'll find her," Gajeel growled. "If I read enough, I'll find her. Damnit… I can't… It doesn't make sense!"

Cobra looked down at the book to see blank pages staring back at him. His eye narrowed and he looked at his boyfriend's furrowed brow and the tears shining on his cheeks. "Let me help you," he said gently. "We're in a dream, Gajeel. This is just a dream. But I can help, if you'll let me."

Gajeel's body shimmered and he looked at Cobra. He blinked slowly, and in an instant the library was set aflame and he was screaming, kneeling on the floor in front of Cobra and clawing at the ground, struggling against some invisible force that kept him back.

Flames licked at Cobra's body, and when he tried to move he realized that he was bound to a pillar that had broken through the floor. He was gagged, unable to scream while heat seared his face and arms. Macbeth was nowhere to be found.

"Erik, no!" Gajeel bellowed. "No, don't die! Please! I love you! Don't leave me. I love you! I love you!"

Cobra coughed as thick black smoke billowed into his nostrils and burned his eye. Cold fear speared through him when he tried to imagine the ropes disappearing, and they were simply replaced by red-hot iron shackles around his wrists and legs.

The library rumbled and quaked as Gajeel's screams grew in volume. The voice from before was gone now. Where the hell was Macbeth?! Cobra could smell his flesh cooking and heard it bubbling while the fire swelled around his body.

"Cobra!" Gajeel shrieked as his eye rolled back in his head.

Cobra's eye shot open to find Sorano leaning over him with terrified eyes, her hands on his shoulders and shaking him violently where he laid on the floor. "Wh-What-"

"You were screaming," she whispered. He could feel her trembling as her hands slipped away. "Macbeth woke up and… y-you didn't come with him, and-"

Cobra pushed her away and scrambled from the floor to find Gajeel's eyes fluttering open with tears already dripping down his cheeks.

' _Where's Erik?! He's dead too. No, he can't be dead!'_

Cobra ignored everyone else in the room - Sorano where she still knelt on the floor, Macbeth where he sat on the end of the bed and shook out his quivering hands - and vaulted onto the bed, right onto Gajeel. "I'm okay," he whispered. "Gajeel, I'm okay."

"Fuck," Gajeel sniffled. "It was a dream…"

"Just a dream," Cobra said as Gajeel's arms wound around him. He wasn't surprised in the slightest when Gajeel's hand curled around his chin to lift his head, and his lips were roughly claimed. "I'm okay… Mm... I'm okay," he said between harsh, desperate kisses.

Sorano winced when Cobra straddled Gajeel and their kisses intensified. She looked to Macbeth and grabbed his hand, then pulled the dazed Reflector mage from the room well before the two Dragon Slayers' clothes flew off. Once they were in the hallway, she whirled around and pinned him to the wall by his shoulders. "What the hell happened?" she hissed. "Why was he screaming?!"

Macbeth took several minutes to find his voice, to even look into Sorano's eyes. "He was being burned alive," he finally said. "We got in and found Gajeel crying, and I can only assume we heard Loke's voice. But I don't understand what happened. One minute I was catching a kitten, and the next…"

He shook his head and didn't let himself overthink it when he lunged for the woman standing before him. Macbeth's arms wrapped tightly around her waist and he buried his nose in her shoulder.

"Macbeth?"

"We'll help him," he said, his voice trembling. "Sorano, we have to help him. He loves Erik, and his dream tried to kill him, and…"

"It's okay," she said gently. Her gaze shifted to the closed bedroom door when two almost inaudible moans drifted through it. "Let's get some sleep. I'll call Yukino in the morning."

"You need to call her," Macbeth whimpered.

"You need me more," she said. She led him down the hall toward their room, eyeing the clock in the hallway that read six minutes past midnight. She smiled when he burrowed closer to her, forcing her arm to stay wrapped around his shoulders. "I'll even scratch your stomach to help you sleep, alright?"

"Thanks," he muttered, still holding onto her as they walked down the silent, empty hall of the Lucy Heartfilia Home for Children.

* * *

She was feeling good. More than good. Lucy felt like a million Jewels had been dropped in her lap and she'd been named the queen of the universe. She was a total bomb diggity dancer - Yumichika made sure to tell her that several times while she swayed and ground her hips against his to the music - and could hold her liquor like a champ. A super champ.

She was the champiest of all champs.

One thing was for sure though. Cana was never to find a way to get to the Seireitei. Because damn was their sake good. Or maybe it was just Captain Kyouraku's sake that was so delicious. Or maybe it was that Lucy had gotten used to drinking beer at the guild, and the occasional shot of whiskey with Gajeel. Maybe sake just hit her harder. Kind of like when Cana had tequila with Bacchus that one time and they'd started having sex on top of Lucy's meatloaf dinner in the guildhall.

That had been both disturbing and just a little sexy. Disturbingly sexy.

"Such a wonderful dancer."

Lucy laughed and spun around, ready to find Yumichika grinning down at her. Instead, it was someone else. The Seireitei Gray. Shuuhei. That's right. The one who brought the music from the living world. She let his hands grasp hers and kept swaying her hips while he pulled her just a little closer. "This is some great music," she said.

"I'm always looking for new stuff," he said. "They change their music so often, and most things here are still so traditional."

"Well, I like it." Lucy giggled when he whirled her around and pulled her back against his chest. And then another hand brushed against her throat and she looked up to find Yumichika grinning drunkenly down at her. "Yun-Yun! Make a Lucy sandwich!"

"I don't think so," Yumichika chuckled. "You should probably get going, Lucy." He looked up at Shuuhei and nodded off to one side, then pulled Lucy into his arms. They easily fell in step with one another to the music's beat. Slowly, Yumichika edged her toward an abandoned side of the party. He snagged a glass of water from a nearby table, tasting it himself first to make sure it was  _only_  water.

Lucy hummed when she was handed a glass of water, carefully sipping it while she danced.

"Lucy, you really need to get going," he whispered. His gaze darted around the party to make sure no one had noticed them, then he pulled Lucy behind a tree and forced her to look at him. "This is very important."

Her brows furrowed while she sipped at her water. Yumichika's voice had lowered considerably. The playful look in his eyes had disappeared, and Lucy carefully lowered her glass while looking up at him. "Huh?"

"Captain Kurotsuchi showed up," he said. "He never comes to these things, but he's here. That isn't good for you."

"Why?"

"Because if that mad scientist sees your reiatsu, he'll know something's up. And if that happens, the last thing you'll need to worry about is getting arrested."

Lucy blinked slowly, trying to get her brain to process what he was telling her.

"Put simply, he'll experiment on you. It's torture, Lucy. You need to leave and get back to the barracks without him seeing you."

And then it clicked. Torture was a pretty strong word, and considering the kind of insanity that she'd witnessed in regards to the Eleventh division and their pain tolerance, it had to be serious if Yumichika looked the way he did. "Um… Will you maybe w-walk me back?" she whispered.

"I can't," he sighed. "I'm going to try and distract him, so you can slip out unnoticed."

"How?"

Yumichika smirked and peeked around the tree to find Ikkaku and Renji drinking together. "That's the easy part," he said. "Don't draw attention to yourself though. Just get back to the barracks."

"What does Captain Kuro-whatever look-"

"I have to go," he said. Lucy was left standing there, staring in shock as Yumichika sauntered around the tree and back into the thick of the party as though nothing had happened.

"... like…" She honestly hadn't a clue who to look out for though. When she looked around, she didn't really see anyone who looked like a mad scientist. Renji's captain was still there, which was a little surprising based on the stick she was sure had been lodged in his ass since birth. Rangiku's drinking had prompted the busty woman to tease her own captain, Toshiro, and then Captain Kyouraku had started ribbing on Byakuya. It was all relatively tame, as far as Lucy was concerned. Except the Squad 6 captain had been as stone-faced as Lahar the entire time.

Still, she needed to get as close to the exit as possible.

Lucy downed the rest of her water and set the glass on a random table as she made her way further from Yumichika. Further from safety, was more like it.

A loud commotion broke out behind her, one that she could very clearly hear Ikkaku's bellowing voice in the center of. Lucy didn't pay attention to what he was saying though. Not when she could clearly see the gate that she'd come through earlier that night. She was home free, smiling internally and more than ready to breathe a sigh of relief.

An arm draped around her shoulders and pulled her to a stop. Lucy froze. She didn't know what else to do.

"Ah, Lucy-chan! Come and drink with me!"

With her cheeks flaming, she turned slightly to look up at Captain Kyouraku. He reminded her of Gildarts. Even more with how chummy he got once he'd gotten drunk. But her buzz was wearing off with the knowledge that someone present in the party would want to dissect her. "Sorry, Captain," she said politely. "I've gotta get going."

"No way," he laughed. "Just one more drink!"

"I really can't," she said. "Maybe another time, Captain."

"Aw," he pouted. His arms wound around her, pulling her closer and forcing her cheek to smoosh against his bared, hairy chest. "What happened to Shun-Shun? It was so cute!"

"Nemu, where are you, you little wretch?!"

Captain Kyouraku drew back with a grin and turned with Lucy still in his arms toward the agitated voice just behind him. "Ah, Mayuri. So glad you could make it. Have you met my pretty little Lucy-chan?"

"That's Captain Kurotsuchi, you dimwit."

Lucy's eyes went wide at the sight of the man before her. He hadn't been anywhere she could see before, but she really wished that Yumichika had told her to keep an eye out for a guy painted head to toe with black and white makeup, with a damn blue pharaoh crown on his head and gaudy gold accents. That would have been nice.

She squeaked when his gold eyes drifted up and down her body. Lucy unconsciously pushed herself closer to Captain Kyouraku, if only to get the mad scientist to stop staring at her.

"She's the only woman in the Eleventh," Captain Kyouraku said. "Isn't that crazy? Pretty little thing like her, around those guys?"

Lucy didn't even care when she felt his stubbled chin brushing over the top of her head. The man she was supposed to be avoiding at all costs was still staring at her. It was almost like his gaze was probing her right then, digging deep into her nerves and lighting them all on fire. And not in the good way.

She was fucking terrified.

A woman with long black hair came to stand beside Mayuri and bowed. "I am here, Mayuri-sama," she said.

He sneered and whirled in place, his hand flying across her face in an instant. "Nemu, I shouldn't have to search for you!"

"Yes, Mayuri-sama."

Lucy gawked. Apparently, this world had its very own Virgo. That was actually kind of creepy. And sad when she saw the bright red mark on Nemu's face while Mayuri berated her. Lucy glanced off toward the exit, then up to the man whose party she was attending. "Captain," she said, drawing Captain Kyouraku's attention. "Thank you for allowing me to attend your party."

"Of course, Lucy-chan," he chuckled. "You can always come over here."

"That's very sweet of you," she said. "But I have to get going. I think I saw Yachiru running around somewhere, and I need to make sure she's not getting into too much trouble."

She didn't wait for his response, and instead carefully slipped out of his hold and gave him a short bow. Lucy spun and darted away from the party, bringing a hand to the hidden pocket holding her keys to try and steady her racing heart.

Captain Kyouraku frowned as Lucy disappeared around the corner, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Mayuri, did you see…" He turned to find that the Squad 12 captain had disappeared, and simply shrugged it off. It had to be nothing, he figured while making his way back toward the table full of sake bottles. He'd already had a good bit to drink, so it was entirely possible that he'd just been seeing things.

No one's reiatsu was a glittery gold like he'd seen fluttering around Lucy just a second ago.

* * *

"Why do you stay with me?"

Cobra frowned when Gajeel's arms around his waist tightened and he was pulled closer to the Iron Slayer. "Why wouldn't I?" he asked. A soft October breeze washed over them, sending several golden leaves tumbling through the air from the tree they sat beneath in the garden.

"All this shit that's going on. I feel like I'm goin' crazy, and you shouldn't have to deal with that bullshit all the time." Gajeel sighed and buried his nose in the crook of Cobra's neck. "It's like I made it so you can't leave. I don't want you to think yer stuck here with me just because…"

Cobra was sure this was one of those times where he was probably supposed to turn around and grab Gajeel's chin with both of his hands and reassure him that they were the most solid couple in the fucking universe. That's what happened in those cheesy fucking rom-coms that Gajeel loved. Except he didn't do that. Instead, his gaze shifted from the falling leaves to how sunlight speckled Gajeel's strong forearms and the piercings running down them.

There had been a whole lot of support from Cobra as of late. He'd never bothered with dating anyone before this thing with Gajeel, but he wasn't going to just give it up.

"Do you remember that one time we teamed up?" Cobra whispered. He plucked a blade of grass from just beside them and started slowly ripping it apart. Strip by delicate strip. "The bullshit with those slave traders kidnapping kids from churches."

"When the guild broke up," Gajeel said, nodding. "I was workin' for the Council and trying to arrest yer ass."

He really couldn't help but chuckle when he thought back to those days. Only a few months after he and the other Seis members had been broken out of prison and teamed up with Jellal. "Do you remember what I told you after it was all done?"

Gajeel hesitated. That was fine though. Cobra knew that he probably hadn't thought much of it at the time. That it was the two of them working together that had made Gajeel even think of him differently, as more than just some insane criminal. Taking out that slave trade ring together had tossed a bit of fire into Gajeel's feelings about him, one that took a long time to smolder and finally become what they had together right then.

"I told you, 'I found a place where I can live in freedom. It's my home.' Do you remember?" Cobra whispered.

"Yeah," Gajeel chuckled. "A bit. But you were talkin' about Macbeth and them that day… What does that have to do with this?"

Cobra dropped the shredded blade of grass then pulled away from Gajeel and the shade of the tree trunk. He stood and removed his jacket, then both of his shirts, revealing the cross-hatched scars along his back that Gajeel had already memorized. He pulled his shoes off before turning to look at the confused Iron Slayer on the ground.

With a little smirk, Cobra walked off down the nearby trail, barefoot and not bothered in the slightest by the twigs biting into his feet here and there.

' _Off his fuckin' rocker. Where the fuck is he going, barefoot? Fuck me, I'm in love with a goddamn hippie-ass-tree-hugging motherfucker who's too goddamn sexy for my own fucking good. Look at that ass… Yeah, I know you hear me, you cocky little shitsack. Fuck, I love him.'_

Cobra grinned when Gajeel's arms wrapped around him again, pulling him to a stop and right into the bare, warm chest he'd grown so accustomed to in the last few months. A gentle kiss was pressed to his temple before he turned just enough to look into Gajeel's crimson eyes.

"What're you plotting?" Gajeel whispered against Cobra's pliant, smiling lips.

"Death and destruction, of course," Cobra chuckled. He fought back a small squeak when calloused finger wriggled against his ribs on both sides. Damn Gajeel for finding out he was ticklish. "Just go for a walk with me."

He pulled away and, for the first time, reached out to lace his fingers with the Iron Slayer's. Cobra didn't need to look down to know that Gajeel was barefoot, only wearing pants just like Cobra himself. They'd never done this together though, but he figured it was time to let his boyfriend in on another of his little quirks.

"Can I ask why we're fuckin' barefoot?" Gajeel asked as they walked hand-in-hand down the path.

"It's something I started doing when we were kids," Cobra said. "Brain had us and we had clothes and shoes to wear, but I was so used to being barefoot that I just couldn't wear them all the time."

Gajeel glanced at Cobra for a moment, his eyes narrowing in thought at the fond smile on his boyfriend's lips. "Alright."

"My favorite thing to do when we got away from the Tower of Heaven was this…" Cobra tightened his grip and led Gajeel from the path and through the freshly trimmed grass. "Feeling grass under my feet. Touching a tree. You don't think about how amazing this shit is unless you can't experience it, Gajeel."

Gajeel's head turned slightly when two sets of footsteps drew closer, and he found Macbeth and Sorano walking over to them. Macbeth's shirt was gone and Sorano was wearing a simple sundress. When he looked down, he found they were barefoot as well.

"We all do it now," Macbeth said once they were standing beside the two Slayers. "When things get too rough, we remind ourselves that we're free now. Erik taught us that."

"Okay, but I'm so fuckin' confused," Gajeel said softly.

Erik smiled and wrapped his arms around Gajeel's waist. "You've been so worried about what's going on with you, and you think I feel trapped here," he said. "I don't."

"But-"

"Just listen," Cobra whispered, letting out a slow breath when Gajeel nodded. "I value my freedom above pretty much everything, Gajeel. If I felt trapped here, I would've said something and bolted. But when I told you that, about how I'd found a home with Crime Sorciere, it was the truth. At the time. My home is here, with you and these kids."

' _But… Whatever's goin' on is just torturing him. They went in my dream, and he was so fuckin' scared when I woke up…'_

"Yeah, it was scary as hell in there," Cobra said. "Seeing you crying over that grave… And then how I couldn't stop myself from…" Gajeel shuddered and Cobra shook his head. "Well, you know. But I stick around because this is where I belong, Gajeel. I know it. Being with Crime Sorciere worked for where I was at the time, but I have so much more freedom here. No one's hunting me down here. You and those kids want me to be here, and you care about what happens to me. I don't have to constantly be on the move, using my magic all the time, always looking over my shoulder."

He didn't need to look at Macbeth and Sorano to know they were smiling. Cobra honestly didn't give a shit what they thought right then, though. All he really cared about was Gajeel, and the way his eyes softened as they gazed at each other.

"For the first time in my life," Cobra continued, "I feel safe. And that's because of you. That's why I stick around, even through all this shit that's going on." His grip on Gajeel tightened marginally, and a small smile curled his lips. "I love you. No way in hell would I want to be anywhere else."

' _I'm not dreaming, am I? Because he just said he loved me. Out loud. Fuck me, this better not be a goddamn dream!'_

"It's not a dream," Cobra chuckled. "I love you, Gajeel."

"Well…" Gajeel glanced off to the side and his cheeks flushed a gentle pink. "Alright then."

Cobra laughed and kissed his cheek. "Really, that's all you have to say? I say  _I love you_  for the first fucking time, and all I get is an  _alright_?"

"Fuck you," Gajeel muttered. Cobra kissed his cheek again, and his shoulder finally slumped with embarrassment. "You already know I fuckin' love you."

"Oh my god, these two are so cute," Sorano whispered, giggling when both Dragon Slayers glared her way and shot her the bird.

"Yes, Sorano," Macbeth said with a smirk. "They're a couple of cinnamon rolls."

"Oh, I'll fucking roll you, you narcoleptic bitch-tit!" Cobra snarled. He pushed away from Gajeel and dashed after Macbeth, who had instantly realized things weren't going to end well and had wisely turned tail and run back toward the manor.

Gajeel smacked himself in the forehead and walked back with Sorano in silence. They eventually found Cobra pinning Macbeth to the ground, surrounded by laughing, cheering kids, giving the Reflector mage a purple nurple that wouldn't go away for weeks.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, this chapter was supposed to be longer, and there's something that I'd been planning on putting in the chapter since I first thought of this story… but it's not here. See the end author's note for more information.
> 
> I'd also like to give a huge shout-out to KJacket on FFnet for their recent review and kind words regarding this story. I was on the verge of putting the computer down for the day since the final scene was fighting me (and has been for a few days now), but they gave me the motivation to keep working on it.

 

She'd been so confident in her ability to run the hell away from things before, but now, Lucy was seriously questioning just why that was. All the streets of the Seireitei looked the same to her. Damnit, she didn't know her way back to the division well enough to do something like this. Namely, running away from the mad scientist that may or may not be chasing her down right then. In the dark.

But,  _no_ , Yumichika couldn't have escorted her back. And he'd had to drag Ikkaku into the distraction as well. A whole lot of good that had done. Now she was lost, and couldn't stop running, just in case Captain Kurotsuchi was somewhere nearby.

She knew he'd seen the truth. Yumichika had told her what it was that would make her stand out to anyone who really looked. Her reiatsu - more accurately her magic that they assumed was reiatsu - wasn't like anyone else's. It was gold and glittery. It wasn't just waves of energy in some random color that somehow represented her spirit. Yumichika had shown her his own reiatsu, raising it so she could see the physical manifestation of it while they were sparring that first time. She'd been able to watch his light turquoise energy leap off of his skin and dance in the air around him in a small aura.

But she just had to be different. Of course.

And with how intently Captain Kurotsuchi had been looking at her while Captain Kyouraku's arms had been wrapped around her in a very hairy stranglehold, Lucy could only assume that he'd seen it.

He knew. And that could only mean one thing.

"I'm so fucked," she whimpered while dashing around a corner. Why did every street have to look the same?!

The soft scratch of a straw sandal on stone somewhere nearby drew her attention, but she didn't slow down. She couldn't. If anything, those unknown footsteps quickened. So Lucy ran faster as well. She wasn't sure where she was getting this energy from, because her legs were already burning and her lungs couldn't expand far enough or fast enough for her to suck in the air she needed.

She didn't care how much noise she made. Maybe she should have. Between her feet hitting the ground as loudly as they possibly could in an unsteady rhythm, and how she was panting so noisily that it could wake the dead… Then her keys where they jingled just a little from their space in her shihakusho top. She may as well have taped bubble wrap to her feet and walked across a room full of bicycle horns and rubber chickens.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she hissed. "Where am I?"

She stopped when she reached an intersection that split off in four different directions. Lucy wracked her brain for any direction to go, but she couldn't even remember going through a four-way intersection like this when they'd been on their way to the party. God, why couldn't she have just feigned drinking too much, and had someone take her back? Like Shuuhei, maybe. He seemed nice.

"Don't stop, Lucy," she said, picking a random direction and running once again. Those footsteps were louder now. And higher than her, maybe. It made her want to look up, to search the roofs of nearby buildings to see if someone really was following her. But there was no guarantee that she'd see anyone. And if she looked away from where she was running, then the universe would most likely hate all over her and make her trip.

If she tripped, she was dead.

"She has to be around here somewhere, Nemu. Find her."

"Fuck," Lucy whimpered. His voice was way too close. Just up ahead if she could trust the way sound echoed. Which she couldn't.

But then there was a shadow at the end of the street she was running down, one that had an oddly shaped head, very reminiscent of Captain Kurotsuchi's weird pharaoh helmet thing. "All this time," came his grating, strangely musical voice, "Searching for something new. And it just falls in my lap like this. Now, if only I could find my little test subject."

Hell no, she was  _not_ going to get into a confrontation of any sort with him. She wanted nothing to do with that. Lucy nearly came to a halt, and instead noticed another break in the road, just ahead of her and off to the right. That mad scientist was coming from the right, but he was further down, so this could work in her favor. Maybe she could find something to hide behind until he was gone.

So, Lucy put on an extra burst of speed and dashed around the corner only to stop dead in her tracks when her face smashed into a wall of hard, unforgiving muscle. It took everything in her not to scream when a pair of large hands clamped around her shoulders.

"What the fuck are you doing now?"

Lucy jolted and looked up, focusing as hard as she could in the darkness to see who it was. But she knew that voice. She knew the way it rumbled and zipped down the length of her spine. "K-Kenpachi?" she whimpered.

"Yeah. What the-"

She didn't think twice about her actions, and instead lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his waist in a crushing hug. "I-I need your help," she whispered.

"With what?" he asked, frowning down at her with his arms lifted out and away from where she was touching him.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Captain Kurotsuchi crooned. "Tell me why your reiatsu looks that way, little girl."

"Help," she breathed, looking up into Kenpachi's one visible eye. He forced her to let go, even though she tried to fight it, and she nearly stumbled when he pushed around her so she wasn't visible in the mouth of the alley. He was broad enough to cover her easily, but Lucy still burrowed under his haori, just in case.

Those footsteps came closer, closer still, and she stopped breathing altogether. Maybe if he couldn't hear her breathing, he wouldn't know she was right there. Her hands fisted in the back of Kenpachi's shihakusho top and she buried her face in the fabric.

"Climb up," Kenpachi muttered. "And don't let go."

She didn't need to be told twice. Without anymore prompting Lucy climbed his ass like some creepy little koala bear until her head rested just beneath his shoulder blades. Her arms looped under his and her hands anchored themselves around the front of his shoulders, beneath his haori. She wasn't sure what to to with her feet though. Because if she let them dangle, then they didn't touch the ground, but she was sure that someone would notice a pair of feet peeking out of the bottom of his white coat. And she couldn't exactly wrap them around him like this was any other piggyback ride.

Kenpachi helped though, by hooking his hands just behind her knees and yanking them up to his thin hips. "Right here," he muttered. "Squeeze your legs and don't let go."

She didn't say a word, instead pouring everything she had into holding herself in this awkward position with her knees at his hips and her feet hanging down along the sides of his thighs. It was even worse when he started walking. Right toward the footsteps that were nearly upon them already.

"Zaraki, have you seen-"

"Haven't seen shit," Kenpachi growled as he walked past Captain Kurotsuchi. Lucy tightened her hold on him, trying to keep herself flush with his body so there was no bulge in his haori to give her away.

"You filthy barbarian, watch where you're stomping!"

Kenpachi didn't answer, and instead rounded the corner Mayuri had just come around and continued on his way back to the barracks. He didn't try to get Lucy off of him. It would look too suspicious if he stopped for anything. And even when her hold on him started to loosen, she adjusted and got a better grip without incident. She couldn't let herself relax even as Captain Kurotsuchi's footsteps faded off into the distance. She couldn't allow this tension that had frayed her nerves overwhelm her. Not while they were still outside.

The last thing she needed was for his lieutenant to spot Kenpachi, and realize that he was carrying Lucy around under his haori to keep her safe.

She was sure Kenpachi would tell her that she was lucky he'd come along, and if she wasn't in the process of swallowing down her bone-rattling fear, she would have thought the same thing. There was nothing she could say to him though. She needed to stay quiet and still, and pour all of her focus into not falling flat on her ass while he walked around another corner.

Eventually, they returned to the division, but he still didn't let her get down. Not until she heard his feet thudding over the wooden planks that led to the barracks. Well, she'd assumed he would stop for her to finally stop clinging to his back, but he kept going. Right past the room that she knew was Yachiru's, where Lucy slept, and into his own room next door. When the door finally closed behind them, he still didn't stop. Instead, Kenpachi walked across the room to an open window and closed it, pulling the drapes shut for good measure.

She just couldn't hold on any longer though, and she wasn't even sure if he was going to tell her to get the hell off of him. Her legs finally gave out, sliding down his own legs until she was left dangling on his back. She let go and once her feet touched the floor, Lucy collapsed in a shaky heap.

Kenpachi turned and glared down at her, silently watching as Lucy curled in on herself and fisted her hands in her tousled hair. "You're staying here," he said.

Lucy just nodded. That made sense, she supposed. It wasn't like she could just saunter out of his room and go to Yachiru's, especially if that freak had followed them. If he was waiting for her to make an appearance, then that would be the time he'd catch her. It was probably why Kenpachi had taken her to his room to begin with. So it looked like he really was alone, going home to get some sleep.

She didn't hear him sigh and make his way to the bathroom. Just as she didn't hear the soft jingle of the bells in his hair as he removed them, or the water running for him to take a bath. It wasn't until half an hour later that she finally uncurled herself from the pathetic little lump on the floor that she'd become, just as Kenpachi left the bathroom with his damp hair hanging down past his shoulders, and only a towel wrapped around his hips.

She'd seen him shirtless on several occasions before, considering how often his clothing was torn while he was just training. Hell, his kosode was almost always open down to his navel, showing off those deliciously toned abs of his. But she'd  _never_ seen him like this. Practically naked.

Fuck, this was the last thing she needed. Because the long scar running down the left side of his chest was begging for her tongue to drag over it. Small droplets of water beaded on his broad shoulders as he made his way toward what she came to realize was a closet. His arms were deceptively thin without the rest of his clothing on, but she knew just how strong he was. How the hell could he look like  _this_ under his clothes?

It just wasn't fair.

"Get changed," he said over his shoulder.

"Into what?" she asked, still holding her knees to her chest on the floor. Talking was a good distraction. She could latch onto a conversation instead of the lewd fantasies rolling around inside her head of dragging him to the ground and letting him have his way with her all too willing body. "I don't have any clean clothes in here."

He threw a yukata over his shoulder, and she barely had time to catch it before it hit her in the face. She wasn't questioning this. It was the safest place for her, and she'd never really had a reason not to trust Kenpachi. Her eyes widened when his hands dropped to the towel around his hips, and he loosened it without looking back at her. That was more than enough for Lucy to bolt from her spot and rush off to the bathroom, locking herself inside before she could see even a sliver of tan skin that she wasn't supposed to.

She moved on shaky legs toward the sink and mirror, and braced herself on the counter while staring at her spooked reflection. She was a complete mess. The chopsticks holding her hair back were barely hanging on. She could feel sweat pooling in the most uncomfortable of areas from running before. Honestly, a bath was in order, but she wasn't sure if it would be right to use Kenpachi's bath.

Then again, if she had to stay in his room, he'd probably appreciate not having to smell her funk. And it would probably help her relax a little more.

With a shake of her head, Lucy undressed and started a bath for herself. Hopefully, by the time she was done, this raging fire in her belly would die down, Kenpachi would be dressed and not look so delectable, and maybe… just maybe… she'd be able to put this business with that freaky scientist wanting to dissect her out of her head for the night.

* * *

It wasn't until she was dry - and thanking the stars that Kenpachi kept some of Yachiru's shampoo and conditioner in his bathroom - that Lucy realized she didn't have clothes. Well, there was that yukata he'd thrown at her, but it was in the bedroom. And she didn't have clean underwear with her at all. That was all in the room next door.

She could have probably called Virgo out for help with the clothing situation, but thought better of it just as she reached for her keys. There couldn't be any weird sounds or _lights_ coming from Kenpachi's quarters, if Captain Kurotsuchi was wandering around nearby. It had to look and sound as though he was all alone.

Of course, that meant that Lucy would have to walk out of his bathroom in nothing but a towel. Hopefully, he would already be in bed, maybe already asleep. Oh, that would be perfect. It was just too bad the alcohol she'd been enjoying so much while at that party had dissipated in her system from the sheer terror she'd been feeling earlier. What she wouldn't give for some of that liquid courage.

Then again, the last time she'd been drunk around Kenpachi, she'd apparently thrown herself at him. And then thrown up  _on_ him. So maybe it was better that she was stone-cold sober. At least he wouldn't want to beat her into the ground for covering him in vomit.

But just knowing that she was going to be walking to into his room, mostly naked, was enough for her cheeks to flush a deep, bright pink while slowly opening the door. She crept out of the bathroom and found him sitting up in his bed with his sword on his lap, and his eyes closed. Thankfully, he was wearing clothes, another yukata that was similar to the one he'd thrown at her. Then again, her rebellious, perverse mind lamented the lack of visible flesh.

"I figured you might need some clothes," he muttered, never looking at her.

"I, um… kinda forgot," she said. Well, it was more of a squeak, but she wasn't going to admit that to anyone.

Lucy shook her head though and forced her feet to move. She was no virgin, by any stretch of the imagination, and there wasn't anything for her to worry about. Hell, her fling with Gildarts had been her own doing in the first place. She'd come onto him, and she'd been confident about it. So why the hell should she be so bashful while she was around Kenpachi like this? She wasn't trying to sleep with him, no matter what her stupid hormones had to say on the matter, and he wasn't doing anything to proposition her. More than likely, he wasn't even interested in her to begin with.

Yachiru did tell her that he spent so much time fighting that he didn't waste time with women, so really… what was there to worry about?

Kenpachi didn't say anything else, and she made her way over to the yukata on the floor. She peeked at him for a moment, just to make sure he wasn't looking at her, then turned her back to him for good measure and wrapped the fabric around her shoulders. Just before tying it closed, she dropped her towel, folding the sides over her breasts before the air could even touch them.

Once it was tied, she looked down at herself, and laughed. "Kenpachi, this thing is huge!"

He smirked when she turned toward him again, his gaze travelling from her damp golden hair hanging over one shoulder, still unbrushed, down to the floor where his yukata covered her feet completely. "Nah, you're just tiny," he chuckled.

She probably would have gotten angry over what he'd said, except Lucy was fully aware of the difference in their sizes. Kenpachi was a monster, and she really was tiny in comparison to him. She couldn't help but wonder just how much he'd dwarf her body if he was on top of her. She'd already had her legs around his hips earlier, so she knew they were sinfully thin. She wouldn't have to be able to do a split just for him to fit between her legs.

But she didn't need to be thinking about that. At all.

Except Lucy really didn't know what to do with herself right then. When she was in the other room with Yachiru, they usually talked before bed. She'd grown accustomed to the young lieutenant's enthusiasm, even right before going to sleep. But here, in Kenpachi's room, it was so different.

And it probably had everything to do with him being there.

She just didn't know how to act around him when she wasn't pretending to be a shinigami.

"You can go to sleep if you want," he said, closing his eyes again.

Lucy jumped and picked up the towel she'd used, rushing off to the bathroom again. She didn't have a brush, and there was no way she would use his. She really wasn't sure how he felt about her using his things in the first place, so it was for the best if she didn't push her luck. By the time she was in the room again, he was right back to doing whatever the hell it was that he'd been doing before. Maybe he was meditating. If that was the case, then she didn't want to disturb him. Except, Lucy had no idea where she was supposed to sleep.

"The bed," he said, causing her shoulders to tense as though she'd been caught stealing from the cookie jar.

"Wh-What?" Was he a mind-reader? Oh, that wasn't good.

"You mumble a lot," he said. His one visible eye opened again, and she could swear he was looking right into her soul. Why did he have to be so intense all the time? He wasn't all worked up over fighting right then, but his gaze felt heavy, bearing down on her until she was sure her lungs would collapse. "The bed's big enough for me to sleep comfortably, which means it's big enough for me and someone as tiny as you."

"I'm not tiny!" she shouted, then bit her lips and looked around as though a monster would come crawling out of a shadowy corner at the sound of her raised voice.

"You really are," he chuckled, then shrugged. "I won't bite."

 _'Man, I wish you'd bite me… No! Shut up!'_ Still, Lucy nodded and made her way to the bed. She sat down and put her feet beneath the blanket, then looked over at him again. There was no way she'd be able to get to sleep with how jumpy she still was. But maybe, if she could get him talking, it would help her relax a little more. And then she could just pass out and pretend this night was all just a horrible dream. She could wake up in the morning, and everything would be back to normal, pushing her body to the limit in training with the division.

Kenpachi's eyes closed again, even though she was positive that he could  _feel_ her staring at him. She was technically supposed to meditate before bed, but even that wouldn't help her relax. She wasn't sure if she'd even be able to get into the right mindset to do it in the first place.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm just wondering what you're doing," she said.

He looked down at the sheathed sword in his lap, running his thumb over the wrapped blade. "Trying to connect with it."

"Connect?" she asked. This was good. Maybe she could actually learn a little more about Kenpachi while trying to relax. He was a closed book, and it drew her to him even more because all she knew about him was that he enjoyed fighting, and that he took care of Yachiru. But there had to be more to Kenpachi. He couldn't only live for the thrill of a fight.

She knew it was stupid to wonder what else there was to him, but what else was she supposed to do while waiting to get back home?

"Zanpakuto have names," he said. "A shinigami imprints their soul onto the sword, from what I've been told, and then they bond with the spirit of the sword to learn its name. Makes them stronger."

"Like that whole shikai thing?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. He nodded again, and she frowned when his brows furrowed. "I would've thought you already knew it, being a captain and all."

Kenpachi chuckled and set his zanpakuto off to the side of the bed, where he always kept it. Close enough to grab it in the middle of the night if he needed to kill something. "Nah, I didn't even go to the Academy before becoming a captain. The old man trained me in kendo for a day before it was called off. Something about how I didn't need anything more or some shit."

"There's an academy?"

He smirked and leaned his head back, looking up toward the ceiling. "Anyone who wants to become a shinigami has to go through the Academy, learn how to fight, use tactics and kido. I didn't need any of that."

"How come?"

"Because I've been fighting to kill since I was a kid," he said, turning his smirk down to her. The last thing he'd expected was for her to be smiling up at him, even after admitting that. Most people didn't really smile over something like a child killing people. "That's just how it works in the Rukongai, especially where I came from."

"So, how does someone become a captain?"

"Three ways," he said, pulling up one knee to drape his arm over it. He was so used to being around Yachiru at night like this, that he didn't even blink over the nonstop questions. Yachiru was the same way, and it was really the only way to get her to go to sleep without her tossing and turning in the middle of the night. "The first is an exam, where you have to perform a bankai in front of the Captain-Commander and at least two other current captains."

"What's a bankai?"

"Ask Ikkaku to show you sometime," he chuckled. "He's the only one in my division with one, even if he thinks I don't know about it. He'll explain it better than I will, since I don't have one."

Her lips pursed for a moment. She vaguely recalled something about a bankai before, but after thinking on it, she realized that it was Shuuhei lamenting earlier in the night about no one believing his claims of having achieved bankai. "Is it like a spell or something?"

"No, more like the second step of unlocking your sword's power," he said with a shrug. That was the extent of his knowledge on bankai though. Well, there was more to it, but he wasn't going to get into all the gritty details with her. It wouldn't really matter all that much anyway once she found a way to go back to her home world. "The second way to become a captain is to be a kiss-ass."

"What?" she laughed.

"At least six captains submit a personal recommendation, and then at least three of the remaining seven have to approve it." He shrugged again. "You'd have to kiss some serious ass to get recommendations from six of us though."

"And what's the last way?" Lucy turned toward him a little more, leaning back against the headboard beside him. "If you don't have a bankai thing, then you couldn't do the first one. And I doubt you went around making friends with captains just to get a recommendation."

"Hell no," he snorted. "I did it in Trial by Combat."

"You fought your way in," she deadpanned. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"It's really only for my division," he said. "The challenger has to defeat the current captain with two hundred members of the division watching. So, I came in and killed the tenth Kenpachi, then took his place as captain."

"Tenth Kenpachi?" She couldn't stop herself from shivering when his thin lips curled into a dark and malicious grin.

"Kenpachi is the title of the strongest shinigami," he said. "The one that's killed the most enemies and won the most battles. To take the name of Kenpachi, you have to kill the last one to hold the title, and that person is always the captain of the 11th Division."

"So, there have been ten other men like you?" she asked, raising a brow at him. Ten other people who were obsessed with fighting, and recognized as the strongest shinigami?

"The first Kenpachi was a woman," he said, chuckling again when Lucy's eyes went wide. "I fought her once, when I was a kid. Gave me a taste of a real fight."

That was something she hadn't expected. She just couldn't imagine any woman being so obsessed with fighting and killing that they would attack a child, and run this particular division. Then again, if she thought about it, there were several women she'd met back in Earthland who weren't exactly the most… noble in fights. But she couldn't recall any of them being obsessed with it the way Kenpachi was.

Lucy bit her lips and stared at him again while trying to picture what he must have looked like as a child. Honestly, she couldn't picture it at all. Any images her mind conjured of a young boy with black hair and grey eyes, and chubby youthful cheeks, just didn't match with the man sitting beside her.

Then she noticed his eye patch was still on. "Is that from fighting her?" she asked, nodding to the patch. "Did you lose it?"

"No," he chuckled. "My eye's still there."

"Do you ever take that thing off?"

"Sometimes," he said, turning to look at her more fully.

"When you go to bed?"

"Usually."

"Then why-"

"I figured you didn't feel like getting crushed with reiatsu when you're trying to sleep," he said. He still had that damn look in his eye though. There was something about it that Lucy just couldn't put her finger on, but it almost felt like he was challenging her. Then again, Kenpachi seemed to thrive on confrontation, so maybe that really was the case.

"So, if it's not missing, then why wear an eye patch at all?" she asked. She couldn't think of any plausible reason for someone to wear something that would limit their eyesight, especially someone who was constantly fighting.

"Same as those bells I wear," he said, watching as her slender hand lifted to lightly trace the edges of the black fabric. "It gives the enemy a better chance at fighting."

"You're pretty full of yourself, Mister  _Strongest Shinigami_ ," she laughed.

"Nah, I just like fighting. The bells give away my position if your reiatsu's high enough for you to hear them. So, if someone hears me coming, I know they'll be worth fighting."

Lucy wasn't going to mention that she was able to hear his bells all the time. It probably worked differently for her, since she used magic.

"The eye patch is a limiter for my reiatsu," he continued. It wasn't often that he got to explain this to anyone. When he thought about it, the last time he'd done this was when Ichigo and his friends had come to save Rukia from being executed. "It sucks up the excess. I don't take it off in a fight unless my opponent is strong enough to handle it."

She bit her lips while inspecting the little black patch. It was strange that he would use something like that to begin with. From her understanding, shinigami used their reiatsu to power their attacks. It was their strength. But he willingly gave himself such a huge handicap, all for the sake of prolonging a fight? It left her wondering just how much of the stuff he actually had in the first place. Because she'd noticed the way his subordinates started sweating bullets when even a little reiatsu leaked off of him.

It wasn't until she lightly touched his cheek that Lucy realized she was propped up on her knees, and seriously invading Kenpachi's personal space. Before she could draw back in horror though, her mouth decided to start digging her an early grave.

"Can I take it off?"

His brow lifted with amusement. "You sure you can handle that?"

She shrugged and gave him a shaky smile. "I'm still pretty freaked out from earlier," she admitted. "If it'll help take my mind off of nearly being a test subject, I'm all for it."

She watched as he seemed to mull it over, but it wasn't long before he nodded. Just once. That was all she needed, so Lucy licked her lips and carefully peeled at the edge of the eye patch. "Should I do it slow, or…"

"It doesn't really matter," he chuckled. Kenpachi didn't really care whether she took it off fast or slow, because the result would be the same either way. It would be until the last little reiatsu-sucking mouth on his eye patch had been detached that his reiatsu would spike.

Lucy's eyes widened when she finally pulled it away from his face and the pressure in the air increased until she struggled to breathe. And then it kept going. Fiery yellow energy swirled around him, fluttering his loose hair around his shoulders. And Lucy, for all she'd assumed that it wouldn't be that big of a deal, finally felt the power that truly lurked within the 11th division captain as she lost the will to keep herself upright and collapsed across his lap.

"Told ya," he chuckled as her hands clenched on the bed. She struggled to even turn her head, but when she did, there was a burning glare directed at him. "Just be glad we're not fighting. This'd be a whole lot more intense if we were."

Lucy ground her teeth together and pushed back against the invisible force weighing her down. She didn't budge. "Bastard," she muttered. Kenpachi's only response was to laugh again. She refused to give up though.

"It'll even out in a minute."

Lucy didn't want to wait a minute. Because she could hear the teasing tone in his voice, and the last thing she wanted was for him to see her as being too weak to deal with something like this. After having been around the men in this division long enough, she'd grown accustomed to their way of thinking. At least a little. Being seen as a weak little woman was pretty damn common around this place - at least, in this division - and she refused to let it continue. So she'd trained nonstop. She'd pushed her body to its limits again and again, and trained with her magic when she was alone at night.

This was the time to prove that there was more to her than some delicate little flower of a girl who couldn't stand on her own two feet.

Or sit up, to be more accurate.

Her gaze never left his smug grin as she dug deep within herself and tapped into her magical container. She reached deeper still, searching for the power that Ultear had unlocked in her just before the Grand Magic Games three years prior. Lucy pulled it to the surface, a grin of her own stretching across her full lips when glittering gold energy seeped from her pores and lessened the weight pressing down around her. It wasn't by much, but it was something. Just enough for her to move her hands to his nearby leg and slowly push herself up to kneel once again.

And the look on Kenpachi's face was more than worth it. She loved being able to see someone's utter shock at her abilities - the few times she'd managed to surprise an opponent with them - especially because it meant that she'd been able to take their preconceived notions of her and throw them right out the window.

"Not so strong now, are you?" she asked, though her voice was strained, and she could already feel her arms wobbling.

"What the hell is that?" he whispered. His gaze flickered across her face, down to her body and back up, as he took in the golden aura glowing around her and the glittery sheen across her flesh.

"My magic," she said. "It's not much in comparison to my friends, but…" Her arms finally gave out, even with her magic pushing back against Kenpachi's reiatsu, and she fell across his lap once again with a grunt. Except this time, his arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her up just a little higher so she was pressed against his chest.

She didn't try to force herself away from him, and instead just listened to the steady beat of his heart until the pressure in the air settled to something a little closer to normal. It was still heavy, but it wasn't unbearable. She was able to breathe normally again, though, so that had to count for something.

Still, she didn't move. It wasn't that she couldn't, but more that she just didn't want to. Her inner pervert had come out and begun drooling over the delicious muscles hidden under Kenpachi's yukata. How warm and inviting he was. The fact that his eyes - now that she could see both of them - actually made him seem just a little more human, warmer somehow. Lucy was just going to bask in that for a moment. Just a moment.

"That's pretty damn impressive," he said, smirking down at her. Except this time, he didn't look smug. Not in the slightest. This time, he seemed surprised, pleased by the fact that she'd been able to hold her own even for a few seconds against the overbearing presence of his reiatsu.

Lucy glanced away as her cheeks heated up, a shy smile pulling at the corners of her lips while she muttered, "Thanks, Kenpachi."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was supposed to be where the first smut happens. When I thought up the idea for this story, knowing it would lead to a romance between Lucy and Kenpachi (with eventually smut), this is where I'd planned on having them do it for the first time. But when I went to actually write the last scene here, it just didn't feel right. Mainly because I ended up changing the events leading up to what would have been smut in the last chapter. The coitus is totally plotted out and saved in a separate document, but because I couldn't see any organic way to transition into it (mostly because of Lucy's character, and then some other factors), I decided to push that back…
> 
> For my perverse readers (no judgment here, considering I'm the one writing the damn thing lol), know that smut is coming. But it won't happen until it feels right for me to put it into the story. We all know what it's like to read a story, and then the characters are randomly banging for no good reason, and I really want to avoid that in this story (and all my other stories, to be honest).
> 
> For my readers who don't really care about smut… you're welcome, I guess, for no smut this chapter? I dunno.
> 
> Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Be sure to leave a review to let me know what you think so far! And, just to get an idea of your thoughts, what scenario do you think would be conducive to leading into their first smut? I think I have something in mind, but it's up in the air at this point. If I like your idea enough, and if it fits with what's planned, I'll use it with a shout-out to the reviewer who gave me the idea.


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